2083080 


GRAPHOMETER 


Copyright,  Hugo  von  Ha  gen,  1919. 


« 

ft 
t6 
/4 

n 
to 

9 

t> 

+ 
z 

'4    /a    /o 

P     r 

»> 

a. 

f      r 

j__.     0      /Z     /*»- 

/» 

c 

4 

/4. 

/i 
10 

a 

4 

4 

2. 

-^ 

2 

3 

f 

b 

r, 

4_ 

i 

1 

e 

/f 

a 

6 

rf 

4 

4 

3, 

5 

z 

•f 
i 

8 
Jo 
/Z 

2 

^, 

Z 

4 
4 

* 

/o 
/t 
/4 

A 

/8 
ZO 

,4 

^ 

^ 

^ 

i 

fl 

A 

/, 

9 

> 

* 

2 

. 

* 

<> 

?     i 

o 

'4 

4 

'9 

Zo 

t+      IZ     10      8       64       Z 

TELEIV 

i       ^       ^       8      to      U     14- 

[ETER 

Copyright,  Hugo  von  Hagen,  1919. 


KLINOMETER 


Copyright,  Hugo  von  Hagen,  1919. 


"          '0987654321 


PACHOMETER 


Copyright,  Hugo  von  Hagen,  i<)i<). 


GRAPHOLOGY 

HOW    TO    READ    CHARACTER    FROM   HANDWRITING 

Studies  in  Character  Reading" 

A  TEXT-BOOK  OF  GRAPHOLOGY  FOR 
EXPERTS,    STUDENTS    AND    LAYMEN 


BY 


HUGO  J.  VON  HAGEN,  PH.D.,  M.Tn.D. 

President  "American  Graphological  Society"  and  member  of 
"  Societe  Graphologique  " 


With   illustrations   including   reproductions  of 

writing   from  the  earliest  ages  to  the  modern 

penmanship,  showing  the  growth  and  progress 

made  in  the  art  of  handwriting. 


NEW  YORK 

ROBERT   R.  ROSS,  PUBLISHER 
1919 


COPYRIGHT,  1919, 
by  Hugo  von  Hagen. 
All  Rights  Reserved. 


DEDICATED  TO  MY  FRIEND 
GEORGE    W.    BREFFIT 


CONTENTS 

GRAPHOMETER Frontispiece 

KLINOMETER    .        .        .        .        .        .       '.        .        .        .    Frontispiece 

TELEMETER      .        .        .        .        .        ...        .        .        .    Frontispiece 

PACHOMETER Frontispiece 

PAGE 

SCIENCE  OF  READING  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING        ...  1 

HISTORY  OF  GRAPHOLOGY *       .       .  4 

GENERAL  POINTS 7 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  PORTRAIT  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 8 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  PORTRAIT  OF  EMILE  ZOLA 10 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  ROSEBERRY 11 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  PORTRAIT  OF  CARMEN  SYLVA  ......       .12 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WILLIAM  BOOTH       ...  13 

SIMPLIFIED  GRAPHOMETER 15 

MARGIN  ON  PAGE  .............  17 

LINES .24 

HEIGHT  OF  WRITING 30 

SLOPE  OR  SLANT  OF  WRITING 36 

WORD  ENDINGS     .                             .    '   » 44 

ROUND  AND  ANGULAR  WRITING        . 50 

PLAIN  AND  FANCY  WRITING 54 

REGULAR  AND  IRREGULAR  WRITING    ........  62 

WIDE  AND  NARROW  WRITING 68 

THIN  AND  THICK  WRITING        .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  73 

SEPARATE  AND  CONNECTED  LETTERS 81 

FIRST  STROKES  OF  LETTERS        .       . So 

LAST  OR  END  STROKES  OF  LETTERS 94 

UPPER  AND  LOWER  PARTS  OF  LETTERS 101 

PUNCTUATION         .       ..-.'. 105 

SIGNATURES 107 

HISTORICAL  SIGNATURES 120 

UNUSUAL  WRITERS 135 

FAMILY   RESEMBLANCE 140 

GRAPHOLOGICAL  ALPHABET  .       .       .       .              147 

SPECIAL  LETTERS  OF  THE  ALPHABET       . 187 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  WRITING  FROM  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  PRESENT  DAY, 

INCLUDING  GRAPHOLOGICAL  SKETCHES     ......  189 

INDEX  TO  CHARACTERISTICS                                                    .       .       .  318 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

MY  DEAE  DOCTOR, 

You  have  been  kind  enough  to  dedicate  to  me  your  new 
book  on  Graphology,  and,  in  thanking  you  for  this  token 
of  friendship,  I  wish  to  add  that  the  subject  is  especially 
interesting  to  me,  as  through  all  my  life  I  have  been  fasci- 
nated with  the  study  of  handwriting,  and  I  have  never 
ceased  to  be  astonished  at  the  immense  variety  met  with. 

Every  day  there  appear  fresh  proofs  of  the  truth  of 
your  deductions,  but  what  strikes  me  most  forcibly  is  that 
the  formation  of  written  letters  is  so  frequently  symbolical 
of  the  physical  and  psychic  characteristics  of  a  writer.  This 
leads  me  to  advise  the  student  of  Graphology  to  seek  for 
peculiarities  of  this  nature  and  thereby  enlarge  his  own 
field  of  observation  and  deduction,  to  the  ultimate  benefit 
of  this  branch  of  science. 

Having  had  the  privilege  of  reading  this  book  in  manu- 
script, I  have  been  greatly  impressed  with  the  simplicity  of 
its  arrangement,  and  I  feel  sure  it  will  be  found  by  all 
readers  to  be  of  practical  value  in  business,  social  and  other 
walks  of  life. 

In  past  years  you  have  often  pointed  out  tendencies  to- 
ward certain  characteristics  in  individuals  which,  though 
not  apparent  at  the  time,  sooner  or  later  became  evident. 
In  particular,  I  remember  the  case  of  that  young  clergyman 
charged  with  murder,  a  delineation  of  whose  character  from 
his  handwriting  you  gave  me,  indicating  that  he  would  do 


and  say  certain  tilings — all  of  which  actually  occurred  dur- 
ing his  trial. 

The  excellent  examples  you  have  reproduced  of  the 
earlier  stages  of  the  Art  of  Writing  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
interest  to  all  lovers  of  literature. 

With  my  earnest  hope  that  your  book  will  meet  with  the 
popularity  it  deserves, 
I  am, 

Sincerely  yours, 

GEOKGE  W.  BEEFFIT. 
New  York  City, 

4  January,  1919. 


PEEFACE 

"  Surely  people  must  know  them- 
selves, so  few  ever  think  about  any- 
thing else.  Yes,  they  think  what  they 
have,  what  they  shall  get,  how  they 
shall  appear,  what  they  shall  do,  per- 
chance now  and  then  what  they  shall 
be,  but  never,  or  hardly  ever,  what 
they  are." — Guesses  at  Truth. 

IN  1902  I  wrote  a  volume  on  GRAPHOLOGY,  THE  SCIENCE  OF 
READING  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING,  which  was  so  well 
received  that  a  second  edition  was  published  in  1903,  which 
also  was  soon  exhausted. 

The  many  requests  by  my  friends  for  another  volume 
on  so  interesting-  a  subject  finally  induced  me  to  launch 
the  present  book  to  fill  the  demand  of  a  constantly  growing 
number  of  students  of  graphology. 

Entirely  new  illustrations  are  now  used  and  the  arrange- 
ment has  been  improved,  making  this  book  more  helpful 
to  the  student  and  more  interesting  to  the  general  reader. 

I  have  moreover  added  about  fifty  rare  reproductions 
illustrating  the  history  of  the  Art  of  Writing  which  will 
interest  graphologists  as  well  as  others. 

To  the  many  friends  who  have  so  kindly,  directly  or 
indirectly,  contributed  specimens  of  their  handwriting,  I 
express  my  hearty  thanks  and  the  hope  that  in  this  external 
analysis  of  self  they  will  learn  to  detect  unerringly  the 
internal  reality. 

HUGO  J.  VON  HAGEN,  Pn.D. 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

January,  1919. 


WHEN  you  have  read  and  studied  this  book,  you  are  qualified  to 
go  further  in  the  study  of  the  Science  of  Graphology. 

For  your  particular  benefit,  a  correspondence  course,  consisting 
of  twenty  lessons,  is  being  prepared.  This  course  will  consist  of 
written  lectures  and  include  practical  work  under  the  supervision 
of  expert  graphologists  in  making  character  delineations  from  speci- 
mens of  handwriting.  Students  will  also  have  the  privilege  of 
submitting  their  individual  graphological  problems.  This  book  is 
used  as  the  text. 

The  period  of  instruction  will  cover  about  four  months.  On 
completion  of  this  course,  an  examination  will  be  held  and  students 
securing  satisfactory  grade  will  be  awarded  a  certificate  of  pro- 
ficiency by  the  American  Graphological  Society. 

The  Publisher  maintains  a  staff  of  expert  Graphologists  and 
would  be  pleased  to  receive  requests  from  readers  for  Character- 
Delineations  to  be  made  from  specimens  of  handwriting. 

Character-Delineations 
Vocational  Guidance 
Credit-Character  Analysis 
Disputed  Signatures 
Identification  of  Documents 
Forgeries 
Anonymous  Letters 

For  information  as  to  terms,  etc.,  address 

ROBERT  R.  Ross, 

110  West  40th  Street, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  U.  S.  A. 


GRAPHOLOGY:  THE  SCIENCE  OF  READING  CHAR- 
ACTER FROM  HANDWRITING 

A  PERSON'S  HANDWRITING  IS  A  PHOTOGRAPH 
OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

As  long  as  we  are  studying  penmanship  in  school  or  at 
home  it  is  a  merely  mechanical  operation ;  we  simply  follow 
the  copy-book  or  the  blackboard  letters  written  by  the  in- 
structor, but  after  we  have  mastered  the  art  of  penman- 
ship, we  become  independent  and  write  and  form  letters 
of  the  alphabet  to  suit  our  personal  taste  and  ability. 

Our  hand  then  becomes  the  unconscious  instrument  of 
our  brain  and  merely  transcribes  into  letters,  words  and 
sentences,  the  active  thoughts  as  they  are  formed. 

Having  become  used  to  writing  the  various  letters  of  the 
alphabet,  our  hand  ceases  to  record  our  thoughts,  which 
is  really  done  by  the  ever-active,  thinking  brain. 

Our  individual  personality  will  therefore  unconsciously 
form  letters  greatly  at  variance  with  the  school  copy-book, 
by  changing  some  letters  either  through  the  addition  or 
the  omission  of  strokes  which,  in  the  school-room,  we  were 
taught  to  make. 

We  find  just  as  many  different  kinds  of  handwriting  as 
there  are  people.  Just  as  no  two  human  beings  in  the 
world  are  exactly  alike,  so  no  two  handwritings  are  similar 
in  every  detail. 

Through  brain-activity  we  express  unconsciously  in  our 

1 


2  HOW  TO  BEAD 

handwriting,  our  feelings,  our  desires  and  our  will.  If 
we  even  tried,  when  writing,  to  conceal  them,  we  could  not 
do  so,  for  we  cannot  change  our  character  overnight  and 
a  master  of  this  science  can  easily  detect,  by  a  single 
analysis,  the  real  thought,  feeling  or  will-effort  dictating 
its  obvious  counterfeit. 

Graphology,  if  not  absolutely  infallible,  is  at  least  most 
reliable  as  a  means  of  self-knowledge  and  self-develop- 
ment in  business  and  in  private  life,  revealing,  as  it  were, 
from  moment  to  moment,  in  one's  self  and  in  others  in  all 
his  various  relations  with  them,  controlling  influences  that, 
by  its  application,  lead  to  salutary  development  or  dis 
cipline,  corresponding  to  their  nature  and  intensity. 

Parents  may  thus  discover  in  the  handwritings  of  their 
young  and  growing  children,  characteristics,  the  culture  or 
elimination  of  which  may  be  of  vital  importance  in  their 
future  lives.  To  cultivate  the  good,  generous  and  noble 
qualities  of  children  and  to  help  them  to  guard  against  evil 
inclinations  is  a  religious  duty,  and  the  early  revelation  of 
such  tendencies  is  indispensable  to  parents,  for  upon  it 
principally  depend  health  or  disease,  success  or  failure, 
happiness  or  misery  for  the  home  and  its  inmates. 

Employers  can,  by  studying  the  handwriting  of  their 
employees,  guard  against  laziness,  deception,  gambling  and 
dishonest  tendencies,  for  an  analysis  of  their  handwriting 
will  surely  reveal  these,  if  present. 

Physicians  and  other  healers  also  may  be  frequently 
assisted  in  their  diagnoses  by  a  study  of  their  patients' 
handwriting.  Obviously,  if  a  physician  can  detect  in  his 
patient's  handwriting  indications  of  a  threatened  nervous 
relapse,  or  an  athletic  heart,  he  can,  with  greater  accuracy 
and  confidence,  treat  and  possibly  prevent  an  actual  attack 


involving  the  nervous  system,  the  heart,  or  even  produc- 
ing insanity. 

Lastly,  the  study  of  Graphology  will,  by  its  engrossing 
nature  and  its  wide  applicability  to  the  details  of  daily 
life,  public  and  private  and  without  regard  to  age,  sex, 
profession  or  occupation,  amply  repay  the  moments  of 
habitual  observation  and  analysis  devoted  to  its  pursuit 
whether  for  pleasure  or  from  a  scientific  point  of  view. 

My  more  than  thirty  years'  experimental  and  scientific 
analysis  and  study  of  over  ten  thousand  specimens  of  the 
handwriting  of  men,  women  and  children  of  all  nationali- 
ties, classes  and  conditions,  ranging  from  emperors,  kings 
and  other  rulers  of  men,  through  millionaires  and  pro- 
tagonists in  all  fields  of  human  industry  and  achievement 
down  to  hod-carriers  and  criminals,  have  unerringly  and 
convincingly  indicated  the  certain  rules  and  methods  of 
interpreting  and  reading  character  which  have  subsequently 
withstood  successfully  further  exhaustive  tests,  and  are 
now  therefore  recorded  and  presented  in  this  book  for 
public  use  and  approval. 


HISTORY  OF  GRAPHOLOGY 

IT  may  not  be  generally  known  that  investigations  for 
drawing  conclusions  as  to  character  from  handwriting, 
reach  back  into  the  first  century.  The  Roman  historian 
Suetonius  is  supposed  to  be  the  first  writer  on  record  to 
have  pointed  out  a  handwriting  peculiarity.  Suetonius 
writes  in  A.D.  76  that  the  Roman  Emperor  (Octavius) 
Augustus,  always  connected  closely  the  letters  of  the  last 
word  on  a  line,  in  order  to  get  the  complete  word  on  the 
line.  This  trait,  or  graphological  sign,  indicates  economy, 
and  a  practical  mind,  which  historians  all  agree  were  two 
characteristics  of  the  Emperor  Augustus. 

As  the  art  of  writing  gradually  ceased  to  be  a  monopoly 
of  the  professional  writers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  entered 
into  general  use,  we  find  that  a  corresponding  interest  was 
taken  in  handwriting  peculiarities.  In  the  year  1622, 
Doctor  Camillo  Baldo  of  Bologna  published  a  small  book 
entitled  "Trattato  come  da  una  lettera  missiva  si  cognos- 
cano  la  natura  e  qualita  des-crittore."  (How  to  judge  the 
nature  and  character  of  a  person  from  his  letter).  A  trans- 
lation of  his  book  into  Latin  was  published  in  1664  in 
Bologna. 

France  came  next  in  taking  up  this  interesting  subject 
and  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  a  graphologist  in 
Versailles  gave  readings  of  character  from  handwriting. 
Among  these  was  a  remarkable  presentment  of  the  gallant 
Grand  Monarque,  as  indicated  by  a  specimen  of  his  hand- 

4 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING      5 

writing  furnished  by  a  lady  of  his  Court  who  was  quite 
ignorant  of  its  royal  source,  and  in  which  the  King's  foibles 
and  vices  were  so  faithfully  pointed  out  and  identified  that 
the  graphologist  was  imprisoned  for  a  time  and  even  came 
near  losing  his  head. 

The  Poet  Goethe,  in  1820,  wrote  a  small  pamphlet  on 
graphology,  which  was  much  used  in  later  years.  Lavater, 
Goethe's  intimate  friend,  also  wrote  a  booklet  on  grapho- 
logical  readings,  in  which  he  discussed  the  more  logical 
deductions  of  characteristics  from  handwriting.  So  did 
the  Abbe  Flandrin  while  Georges  Sand  also  took  much 
interest  in  the  subject. 

The  German,  Adolf  Henze,  was  one  of  the  best  known 
graphologists  and  handwriting  experts  of  his  time — 1860 
to  1866 — but  his  delineations  were  more  the  result  of  intui- 
tion than  of  logical  deduction. 

A  practical  system,  however,  based  upon  psychical  and 
psychological  foundations,  was  for  the  first  time  worked 
out  by  Abbe  Michon  and  Crepieux-Jamin,  both  French,  in 
the  year  1881.  About  the  same  time  the  French  Jesuit 
Martin,  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  a  system  of  graphology.  All 
these,  however,  fell  short  of  laying  down  any  fixed  and 
definite  system,  or  method,  consisting  of  rules  for  deduc- 
tions from  habitual  peculiarities  of  handwriting.  Never- 
theless, Abbe  Michon 's  system  did  evolve  a  set  of  logical 
deductions  in  writing  and  as  this  was  the  first  undertaking 
of  the  kind,  he  might,  notwithstanding  his  many  inaccura- 
cies, be  regarded  as  the  father  of  graphology.  His  en- 
thusiasm on  the  subject  started  others,  and  in  France  to- 
day there  are  perhaps  more  graphologists  than  in  any  other 
country.  On  September  26,  1885,  the  Paris  paper, 
" Figaro,"  in  its  literary  columns,  published  graphological 


character-readings  of  the  principal  candidates  for  high 
office  and  these  delineations  greatly  assisted  its  readers  in 
making  their  selections. 

Hans  Busse  of  Bavaria,  and  J.  J.  Dilloo  and  L.  Meyer 
of  Germany,  also  have  contributed  largely  to  the  success 
of  graphology  in  Europe. 

In  Paris  the  "Societe  de  Graphologie"  and  in  Berlin  the 
''Bureau  der  Graphologie,"  which  teach  only  graphology, 
keep  up  the  general  interest  in  this  practical  and  useful 
science  and  train  its  members  and  students  as  handwriting 
experts  and  graphologists  for  the  law  courts. 

In  the  United  States  the  "American  Graphological 
Society"  with  headquarters  in  the  "World  Tower  Build- 
ing" in  New  York  City,  has  but  recently  been  organized, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  society  will  soon  have  its  own 
club  house  and  graphological  journal  for  the  use  of  its 
members. 


GENERAL    POINTS    ON    GRAPHOLOGICAL    CHAR- 
ACTER DELINEATION 

THE  writing  to  be  analyzed  should  be  preferably  written 
in  ink  on  plain  paper.  It  is  better  to  have  a  specimen  of 
handwriting  which  was  not  written  expressly  to  be  analyzed. 
Intimate  and  personal  letters  are  better  than  those  of  a 
formal  and  official  character.  Business  letters,  aside  from 
their  signatures,  are  not  so  good  for  the  purpose. 

It  is  desirable  when  analyzing,  to  consider  separately, 
each  one  by  itself  with  its  respective  indication,  all  the 
habitual  peculiarities  of  the  specimen;  after  which  to  take 
a  general  view  and  consider  them  together  as  a  single 
unit,  and  draw  a  general  deduction  covering  all  character- 
istics. 

This  book  is  written  in  a  plain  and  simple  manner  so 
that  a  layman  and  beginner  may  at  once  take  up  the  study 
and  in  a  short  time  be  able  to  draw  accurate  deductions 
and  make  a  complete  analysis  of  a  writer's  character. 

The  diagrams  in  the  frontispiece  illustrate  some  of  the 
appliances  used  by  graphologists.  A,  is  a  graphometer 
for  measuring  the  slopes  of  letters,  the  numbers  being  the 
degrees  above  or  below  the  line  as  the  case  may  be.  B,  a 
klinometer,  is  used  for  measuring  the  slope  of  the  lines. 
C,  is  a  telemeter  for  measuring  the  height  of  the  letters 
above  or  below  the  line.  D,  is  a  pachometer  to  measure  the 
thickness  of  the  strokes. 

To  assist  the  beginner  I  give  five  readings  which  show 

7 


8  HOW  TO  READ 

the  manner  of  making  analysis.  The  first  is  a  handwriting 
specimen  of  Emile  Zola,  the  French  author,  critic  and  poet. 
The  second  is  the  writing  of  Lord  Rosebery,  one  of  the 
prime  ministers  of  England.  The  third  is  the  writing  of 
Carmen  Sylva,  Queen  of  Roumania,  famous  as  poetess  and 
author.  The  fourth  is  that  of  the  late  General  Booth,  of 
the  Salvation  Army. 

In  addition  to  these,  I  give  a  character  delineation  of  our 
martyred  President,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

ABKAHAM  LINCOLN 

The  graphological  reading  of  Lincoln  was  made  from 
the  letter  reproduced,  and  is  of  interest  to  the  student 
of  graphology,  who  can  compare  the  historical  sketch  with 
the  graphological  reading  and  see  how  closely  one  resembles 
the  other  in  the  familiar  characteristics  of  the  great  martyr 
President,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  principal  characteristics,  which  stand  out  promi- 
nently in  Lincoln's  handwriting,  are : 

Activity  Idealism 

^Estheticism  Individuality 

Aggressiveness  Levelheadedness 

Ambition  Love  of  Family  Life 

Carefulness  Love  of  Justice 

Cautiousness  Love  of  Outdoor  Life 

Clearness  Memory,  good 

Common  sense  Mental  depression 

Combat  iveness,  not  openly  Modesty 

Concentration  Nobility  of  purpose 

Courage  of  his  convictions  Perseverance 

Deduction  Persistence 

Diligence  Plainness 

Eccentricity  Prudence 

Economy  Reserve 

Energy  Resisting  power,  strong 

Enterprise  Sadness 

Exactness  Sensitiveness 

Faithfulness  Simplicity 


*/. 


/ 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  9 

Forethought  Spirituality 

Geniality  Suavity 

Harmoniousness  Suffering 

Humor  Versatility 

Humility  Will-power,  strong 

From  these  we  deduce,  that  his  versatility  and  ability 
to  adapt  himself  to  whatever  conditions  arose,  added  power 
to  his  acts,  for  long  before  his  opponent  had  finished  pre- 
senting a  matter,  Lincoln  had  definitely  decided  what  he 
should  do  regarding  it.  He  rarely  changed  his  opinion 
and  almost  never  expressed  it  until  he  had  had  time  to 
think  it  over,  for  his  long  forceful  t  dashes  extending  far 
ahead  of  the  t,  indicate  not  only  energy,  enterprise  and 
protectiveness,  but  deep  thinking  and  precision. 

There  was  little  conceit  in  Lincoln;  there  are  no  fancy 
flourishes  or  unnecessary  strokes.  There  was  no  preten- 
sion and  almost  no  expression  of  enthusiasm,  for  the 
downward  signature  is  an  indication  that  he  was  inclined  to 
depreciate  his  own  achievements,  to  be  pessimistic,  perse- 
vering, however,  with  a  determination  not  easily  lessened. 

While  Lincoln  possessed  and  used  a  fair  amount  of 
logic,  it  was  largely  his  "looking  ahead"  and  not  the  ques- 
tion of  the  immediate  future  that  decided  his  actions,  for 
in  each  word  is  shown  by  the  various  slants,  pressure  of 
the  pen,  the  immense  amount  of  energy  he  applied. 

Economy  was  a  pronounced  trait;  this  seems  to  have 
been  interlinked  with  his  lack  of  independence  in  regard 
to  unnecessary  expenditure.  Wliile  independent  in  affairs 
of  the  nation,  of  public  interest,  his  writing  shows  sensitive- 
ness and  a  tendency  to  shrink  from  any  resemblance  to  an 
argument  in  personal  matters.  Secretive  to  some  extent 
and  yet  an  able,  influential  talker,  especially  when  prompted 
by  what  he  thought  was  duty. 


10  HOW  TO  READ 

Lincoln  was  keenly  appreciative  of  music,  his  biographers 
say,  but  in  his  handwriting  more  than  love  of  music,  was 
musical  inclination,  and  undoubtedly,  had  there  been  any 
development  along  this  line,  Lincoln  would  have  produced 
pleasing  results. 

GRAPHOLOGICAL,  CHARACTER  READING  or  EMILE  ZOLA 
Author.    Born  in  1840  in  Paris;  son  of  an  Italian  engineer. 


Many-sided  brilliancy.  Gifted,  harmonious,  philosophical 
mind.  Highly  idealistic  :  Enthusiastic  toward  all  noble, 
beautiful  and  great  thoughts  in  his  own  life,  in  others  and 
in  nature.  Clear  observer;  allowed  little  to  escape  him. 
Oratorical  gifts;  eccentric  and  steadfast  in  his  own  way, 
proud  and  above  others.  A  nature  which  is  either  one  way 
or  the  other.  Decisive.  A  proud  heart.  Either  desires  to 
be  immensely  happy,  or  desperately  miserable,  and  the 
latter  he  has  been  frequently  by  the  choice  of  his  nature. 

Dependent  upon  others.  Denies  his  own  originally  great, 
beautiful  nature.  Quarrels  with  God  and  Fate.  Merciless 
critic,  especially  of  all  religious  ideas.  Pities  all  people. 
Angry  with  himself.  Curses  the  day  on  which  he  was 
born.  Refuses  arbitration;  remains  angry;  pledges  to  re- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


11 


venge  his  fate;  fights  in  sharp  attacks;  bitter,  fanatical, 
diabolical;  stabs  with  doubly  sharpened  tongue;  full  of 
hatred,  and  all  this  from  mere  self-pity,  perhaps  on  account 
of  unreturned  love,  just  because  things  did  not  occur  ac- 
cording to  his  way  of  thinking.  Obstinately  nervous,  some- 
times losing  control  of  his  temper. 

LORD  ROSEBEEY 

Born  in  1847  in  London.    Son  of  Lord  Dalmeny,  British 
Prime  Minister. 

High  above  others;  unapproachable;  a  God  upon  earth. 
Takes  for  granted  that  he  will  find  in  others  absolute  obedi- 
ence and  subservience.  Looks  after  interests  of  his  friends 


and  servitors.  Spendthriftily  generous.  Likes  himself  afi' 
patron  and  philanthropist.  Coldly  polite  and  courteous; 
polished  in  manners. 

Strategical;  always  at  the  front.  Woe  to  evildoers.  Is 
a  collector  of  curios;  farsighted,  makes  sacrifices;  aggres- 
sive and  cannot  be  scared  when  attacked.  Good  investiga- 
tor ;  makes  others  follow  him.  Practical ;  denies  the  means 


12  HOW  TO  READ 

more  than  the  end  or  aim.  Determined  equanimity  and 
coolness.  Will  and  nerve-power ;  influence  over  others. 

Poetical  taste;  sense  of  the  beautiful  in  Art  and  Nature. 

Clean,  critical,  logical  reasoner.  Seeks  and  uses  light 
and  truth  in  order  to  obey. 

Converses  with  his  God.  Willing  to  listen  to  others  but 
impatient.  Lives  with  a  clear  conscience.  Knows  what 
he  wants  and  must  do.  Works  sincerely  and  with  pleasure. 
Thinks  and  acts  without  caring  for  opinion  of  the  world. 
Needs  room  for  his  own  expansion.  Rules  a  great  world 
of  thought  and  ideas. 


CABMEN  SYLVA 

Queen  of  Roumania,  born  in  1843  as  Ottilie  Luise  Eliza- 
beth. Princess  of  Wied;  married  1869  to  King  Charles 
of  Roumania.  Poetess,  under  name  of  Carmen  Sylva. 


13 

Hothouse  plant;  very  sensitive,  nervous  nature.  Runs 
with  head  against  wall  and  pities  the  wound  thus  made. 
Cannot  adapt  herself  to  circumstances  but  wants  circum- 
stances to  adapt  themselves  to  her.  Eternally  desiring; 
never  satisfied.  Artistic  soul.  Never  understood  by  others, 
as  she  does  not  care  to  understand  them.  Influenced  by 
impressions  and  sentiments.  Must  be  handled  carefully — 
with  gloves.  Loves  to  be  worshipped.  Wants  to  be  ad- 
mired and  sought,  but  seems  outwardly  indifferent  and 
cold,  although  most  anxious  to  be  found.  Admires  her- 
self. Pities  herself  in  a  rough,  coarse  world.  Sighs  dream- 
ingly.  Undertakes  large  and  wonderful  things  in  thought, 
but  comes  down  considerably  when  executing  them.  Puts 
blame  upon  others,  demands  perfection  in  others  but  can- 
not see  faults  in  herself.  Desires  to  direct  others  and 
make  them  subservient  to  her.  Hysterically  inclined.  En- 
forces her  way  in  all  seeming  humility.  Never  gives  up 
a  wish  or  desire  once  made.  Loves  warmly  and  sincerely 
as  long  as  she  can  be  the  only  queen  of  the  heart  she  loves 
at  the  time. 

GENERAL  WILLIAM  BOOTH 
Salvation  Army  Head. 


Severe,  hard,  despotic,  autocratic  over  earth.  Pleased  with 
himself,  self-loving,  self-justified,  feels  his  power,  desires 
to  climb  still  higher. 


14  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

Naked,  practical  character.  Likes  himself  in  his  posi- 
tion; lost  himself  in  it.  Rather  narrow,  one-sided,  pedan- 
tic; constructive  and  executive  power.  Inventive  mind, 
loves  intrigues,  possessed  with  ideas.  Sensational;  with- 
out taste  and  no  harmony.  Hard  upon  himself  and  others. 
Never  has  enough.  Holds  fast  what  he  has.  Enlarges  his 
successes.  Does  not  let  his  right  hand  know  what  his  left 
hand  does.  Plays  two  numbers  at  same  time,  that  is,  he 
always  has  two  strings  to  pull  on  same  matter.  Always 
sees  two  yolks  in  his  egg.  Shrewd  and  careful,  reserved, 
never  loses  his  place  in  argument.  Untiring  nerve  and 
working  power.  Soul  built  up  at  cost  of  body  and  mind. 
Afraid  of  his  own  real  character. 

"And  if  I  talked  with  tongues  of  men  and  angels,  but 
had  not  charity,  I  would  be  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal. ' ' 


THE  GRAPHOMETER 

To  make  a  thorough  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  handwriting 
it  is  well  to  use  the  simplified  graphometer  as  illustrated 


L/NE 


<Ju».ra.tlt.rt*lccs   'of 

5 


of 


here,  which  shows  the  various  degrees  by  which  the  slant 
or  leaning  of  letters  or  words  can  be  judged;  helping,  in 
conjunction  with  the  other  signs,  to  form  a  complete  index 
of  the  writer's  characteristics. 

Hypnotized  persons,  wrhen  writing,  will  generally  assume 
the  character  of  the  individual  they  picture  themselves 
to  be  and  will  change  their  handwriting  accordingly.  For 
example,  a  dry  goods  clerk,  of  a  weak  physical  nature  and 

15 


16 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


writing  a  thin,  weak  hand,  as  in  illustration  Fig.  6,  will, 
on  being  hypnotized,  and  told  to  assume  the  character  of 
Napoleon  I,  write  a  strong,  energetic  hand,  as  in  illus- 


tration Fig.  7. 


r 
**' 


Normal  writing  of  subject. 


After  being  hypnotized. 


Graphology  is,  of  course,  very  useful  in  court  proceed- 
ings, in  libel  cases,  forgery  of  wills  and  other  documents 
and  many  other  matters,  as  it  is  easy  for  a  graphologist 
to  discover  from  a  sample  of  his  usual  handwriting  whether 
a  person  has  written  a  particular  script.  No  matter  how 
careful  a  forger  is,  he  will  always  unconsciously  put  into 
the  forged  instrument  some  of  his  own  habitual  strokes  or 
marks  by  which  he  can  be  detected  and  convicted. 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS 
MARGIN  ON  PAGE 

WHEN  observing  a  specimen  of  writing,  one  of  the  first 
peculiarities  to  be  noticed  is  the  margin  the  writer  has  left 
on  each  page.  This  is  really  of  more  value  to  the  hand- 
writing expert  than  to  the  graphologist  as  not  many  psy- 
chological characteristics  are  found  in  the  margin. 

There  are  margins,  of  course,  on  top,  below,  to  the  left 
and  to  the  right  of  the  page. 

No  margin  at  all,  as  shown  in  specimen  Fig.  8,  in  order 
to  utilize  all  the  paper,  indicates  great  economy  in  the 
writer.  No  matter  how  cheap'  the  paper  used,  a  close- 
fisted  miser  or  stingy  person  always  tries  to  save  and 
economize  space  and  further  emphasizes  this  character- 
istic by  writing  his  words  and  lines  very  close  together. 

/&rw&fc^  Qv+^i-  C  t 


hfc-  <& 


17 


18  HOW  TO  READ 

Very  wide  margins,  like  Fig.  9,  therefore,  indicate  the 
opposite  to  the  very  narrow,  namely:  liberality  and  gen- 


C^f. 


erosity,  also  observance  of  social  usage,  with  tendency  to 
waste  and  extravagance. 

The  graphologist  will  naturally  differentiate,  when  ana- 
lyzing a  specimen,  between  a  formal  business  letter  and  a 
friendly  and  intimate  note. 

Very  evenly  kept  margins  are  quite  rare;  they  indicate 
persons  who  love  careful  order  and  precision  and  who  pos- 


C/U^C^     TV?*-  y$/0—     ^^     f*^> 


to 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


19 


sess  great  evenness  of  mind  and  temper.  See  the  next 
illustration,  Fig.  10,  which  is  the  usual  handwriting  of  a 
charming  gentleman,  one  of  America's  best  living  writers 
and  poets. 

Very  uneven  margins,  as  in  illustration  Fig.  11,  especially 
on  the  left  of  the  page,  indicate  irregularity,  unevenness 
in  thought  and  action,  carelessness,  a  changeable  character 
and  fickleness.  Sometimes,  if  extremely  uneven  and  ir- 
regular, we  have  great  nervous  unrest;  and  if  such  ex- 
ceedingly uneven  margins  are  made  suddenly  by  persons 
who  previously  never  used  them,  we  have  signs  of  a  coming 
nervous  breakdown  and  prostration. 


^ 


If  the  left  margin  begins  narrow  and  grows  wider  toward 
the  bottom  of  the  page,  as  in  Fig.  12,  especially  with  the 
lines  growing  smaller  and  narrower,  we  can  be  sure  that 
the  writer  wishes  to  control  his  natural  tendency  toward 


20 


HOW  TO  READ 


generosity  and  spending,  but  that  this  tendency  will  break 
out  sooner  or  later. 


The  opposite  to  this  last  is  found  in  the  space  being  very 
wide  at  the  top  of  the  page  and  then  narrowing  down  to  a 
very  small  or  almost  no  margin  at  the  bottom  of  the  page, 
as  in  Fig.  13.  Such  writers  are  likely  to  play  "big"  among 


outsiders,  but  they  are  very  "small" 
spend  thousands  as  "a  good  fellow" 


at  home;  they  will 
or  in  liberal  charity 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


21 


donations,  but  they  actually  suffer  pain  and  are  grouchy 
if  forced  to  give  a  few  pennies  for  their  regular  household 
expenses.  Wives  have  hard  work  getting  household  allow- 
ances to  pay  grocery  and  butcher  bills  from  husbands  who 
write  thus. 

Frequently  we  find  the  margin  small  at  the  top  of  the 
page,  widening  toward  the  center,  and  then  growing  smaller 
again  toward  the  bottom,  as  in  Fig.  14.  Such  writers  are 
by  nature  careful  and  economical;  finding  themselves  in 
some  way  spending  more  than  they  ought,  they  stop  to 
consider,  they  think  matters  over  and  form  new  resolu- 
tions; they  reform  and  thus  begin  to  save  again  and  be- 
come thrifty. 


14 


22 

The  opposite  to  the  foregoing  is  seldom  found;  Fig.  15 
however  is  an  illustration  of  this  style.  Such  writers  act 
outwardly  quite  liberally,  they  start  however  to  save,  cut 
down  and  economize,  become  rather  over-careful,  on  ac- 
count of  their  natural  tendency  to  do  so ;  then  they  remem- 
ber perhaps  their  social  or  business  standing,  and  again 
display  liberality. 


If  the  margin  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  page  is  used 
up  carefully,  as  in  Fig.  16,  intermittent  economy  is  indi- 


•  /  '7*~+ 


23 

cated,  just  as  if  the  writer  was  afraid  his  money  would 
not  hold  out.    The  Roman  Emperor  Augustus  wrote  thus. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  notice  how  a  poor  struggling 
person,  who,  through  some  change  of  fortune,  suddenly 
becomes  wealthy,  at  once,  unconsciously,  as  it  were,  en- 
larges the  margin  on  the  page  of  his  letter  in  "sympathy" 
with  his  suddenly  acquired  riches,  while  a  spendthrift  who 
is  by  circumstances  forced  to  economize,  will  simultane- 
ously narrow  down  the  margin  of  his  letter. 


LINES 

WHEN  analyzing  handwriting,  specimens  are  always  pre- 
ferred which  are  written  on  paper  without  lines,  as  im- 
portant characteristics  of  the  writer  are  found  in  the  align- 
ment of  a  page.  Of  course,  there  are  persons  who  seem 
to  be  unable  to  write  at  all,  except  on  lined  paper,  or  with 
a  heavily  ruled  paper  underneath;  nearly  all  such  writers 
may  at  once  be  set  down  as  being  rather  weak,  helpless  and 
dependent  natures,  who  like  to  lean  upon  others  for  sup- 
port and  advice. 

Others  again,  even  if  forced  by  circumstances  to  use 
lined  or  ruled  paper,  do  not  follow  the  printed  lines  but 
write  above,  between  or  below  them.  Such  writers  possess 
an  independent  character  which  enables  them  to  cut  out 
their  own  way  in  life  or  to  use  an  Americanism:  "they 
paddle  their  own  canoe." 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


25 


Writers  who  always  write  a  straight  and  steady  hori- 
zontal line,  even  without  lined  or  ruled  paper,  as  in  illus- 
tration Fig.  17,  are  as  a  rule  steadfast  characters  who  pro- 
ceed on  their  daily  way  with  an  equanimity  that  is  not 
disturbed  by  commonplace  events ;  they  are  generally  trust- 
worthy and  sincere. 

We  execute  centrifugal  movements  in  writing  whenever 
we  make  upward  or  rising  lines,  pen-strokes  or  word-end- 
ings. Such  upward  or  rising  tendencies,  as  in  illustration 
Fig.  18,  especially  when  noticed  throughout  a  whole  page, 
indicate  great  diligence,  confidence,  activity,  hopefulness, 
enthusiasm,  and  ambition,  and  when  combined  with  strong, 
well  marked  pen-strokes,  show  courage  and  daring  also. 


Downward  movements,  in  pen-strokes,  word-endings  and 
lines,  similar  to  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  19,  are  executed 
by  the  writer  through  centripetal  movements.  They  ex- 
press the  opposite  psychic  characteristic  to  the  upward  or 
rising  lines  and  strokes.  Psychic  and  physical  depression, 
anguish  and  weariness,  discouragement,  lack  of  enterprise, 
laziness  and  cowardice,  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
such  writers,  especially  when  in  addition  to  downward 


26 


HOW  TO  READ 


lines  they  write  a  very  thin  round  hand.  Many  such  writers 
carry  themselves,  even  when  Walking  on  the  street,  in  an 
unsteady,  weak  way,  with  body  bent  forward. 


19 


Others  write  upward  and  downward  on  the  same  line, 
causing  a  "wavy"  line,  similar  to  Fig   20.     Careful  study 


20 


&L^ 


/ 


/ - 


20a 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  27 

and  weighing  of  other  signs  are  necessary  when  analyzing 
such  wavy-line  writers.  Wavy  lines  when  accompanied 
by  round,  fine,  thin  or  wreak  pen-strokes,  indicate  weak- 
ness, uncertainty  and  lack  of  independence. 

When  such  wavy  lines  are  written  with  regular,  even- 
pen-strokes,  as  in  Fig.  21,  we  can  be  quite  sure  that  chief 
among  the  writer's  characteristics,  are  not  only  cunning, 
hypocrisy,  diplomatic  ability,  power  of  deception,  but  also 
adaptability,  smoothness  and  suavity  of  speech  and  manner. 


21 


//  lines  are  made  in  upward  curves,  as  in  Fig.  22,  we 
have  a  character  who  may  have  to  use  great  effort  to  start 
new  undertakings  or  perform  duties,  but  who  will  surely 
carry  out  and  fulfill  them,  no  matter  at  what  cost. 


22 

//  the  lines  form  a  downward  half -circle — that  is,  open 
below — as  in  Fig.  23,  which  was  written  by  one  of  Amer- 
ica's foremost  statesmen,  we  find  characteristics  opposite 


28 


HOW  TO  READ 


to  those  of  the  previous  writer.  There  is  always  much 
passing  interest  and  enthusiasm  shown  in  matters  of  labor, 
enterprise,  love  and  duty  by  such  writers,  but  little  real 
will-power  an  denergy.  They  always  begin  with  great  am- 
bition many  more  enterprises  than  they  are  able  to  com- 
plete, see  also  Fig.  24.  So-called  "  hustlers"  who  seem 


23 


A 


24 


always  very  busy,  but  in  reality  accomplish  very  little,  are 
in  this  class. 

Many  writers  are  so  easily  impressed  that  they  write 
their  lines  and  word-endings  upward  when  they  have  heard 


zs 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  29 

good  news,  and  downward  when  bad  news  has  been  re- 
ceived. See  illustration  Fig.  25.  Others,  again,  have  a  ten- 
dency to  change  suddenly  their  usually  even  or  upwardly 
slanted  lines  to  a  strong  downward  line  when  becoming  ill 
or  when  facing  a  sudden  sorrow  or  trouble. 

I  have  among  my  own  friends  a  score  of  writers  who 
have  thus  given  premonitions  of  impending  illness,  es- 
pecially of  liver  and  kidney  troubles,  several  days  or  even 
weeks  before  actual  medical  treatment,  by  a  progressing 
tendency  to  write  their  lines  and  word-endings  with  a  down- 
ward tendency.  They  unconsciously  return  to  their  former 
and  usual  style  of  writing  after  convalescence. 


News  of  the  sudden  death  of  a  dear  one  usually  causes 
a  temporary  tendency  to  downward  strokes  and  lines.  The 
specimen  of  25-a  was  the  abnormal  result  of  such  a  cause, 
the  normal  handwriting  of  the  writer  being  quite  different. 


HEIGHT  OR  SIZE  OF  THE  WRITING 

WE  call  a  writing,  or  penmanship  specimen,  "large"  when 
both  the  capitals  as  well  as  the  small  letters  are  broad  and 
long.  It  is  called  "small"  or  "fine"  when  both  capitals 
and  small  letters  are  narrow  and  short.  If  the  small  let- 
ters are  longer  than  usual,  the  specimen  may  be  considered 
" large";  when  not  so,  it  may  be  considered  "small." 

A  large  hand,  similar  to  Fig.  26,  Fig.  26-a  and  Fig.  26-b, 
is  characteristic  of  royal  and  other  personages,  the  aris- 
tocracy, and  noble-minded  men  and  women.  Accordingly 
a  large,  elegant  handwriting  is  frequently  called  "aristo- 
cratic." 


26 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


31 


26  B 


The  suddenly  rich  also  develop  a  tendency  to  large  hand- 
writing soon  after  the  turn  of  the  wheel  of  fortune.  They 
seem  all  at  once  to  be  obsessed  with  a  desire  to  employ 
and  exercise  authority  and  power,  which  they  manifest 
by  a  corresponding  physical  enlargement  and  elegance  of 
handwriting.  Specimens  of  writing  of  such  newly  rich 
persons  taken  ''before  and  after"  are  most  interesting  to 
the  graphologist.  Fig.  27  was  written  by  a  mining  man 


32 


HOW  TO  READ 


when  he  was  a  " Captain"  of  a  Prairie  Schooner  in  the 
West,  wyhile  Fig.  28  was  written  by  him  in  a  letter  to  the 
author  after  he  had  amassed  a  fortune  of  many  millions 
of  dollars.  The  contrast  between  his  old  and  his  new  life 
is  most  faithfully  reflected  by  the  respective  specimens. 


28 


Extremely  large  letters,  similar  to  illustration  Fig.  29, 
are  used  frequently  by  fantastic  persons,  by  many  poeti- 
cally inclined  natures  and  by  the  affected  and  conceited 
writer  whose  estimate  of  himself  far  exceeds  that  of  his 
acquaintances,  and  who  depends  for  success  in  life,  rather 
upon  "luck"  or  bluff  than  upon  real  ability.  This  style 
of  handwriting  is  also  affected  by  so-called  "over-edu- 
cated" persons,  and  extreme  egotism  bordering  on  and 
eventually  developing  into  real  insanity,  is  often  preceded 


CHARACTER  PROM  HANDWRITING 


33 


and  indicated  by  an  enlarged  and  extremely  sloped  hand- 
writing, years  previous  to  an  actual  outbreak. 


A  large  and  at  the  same  time  an  elegant  hand,  indicates 
a  desire  to  be  someone  of  consequence  or  importance,  and 
it  is  a  mark  of  pride,  self-consciousness,  love  of  power  and 
glory.  Writers  who  use  this  style  in  a  natural  way  gen- 
erally have  a  wide  and  broad  horizon,  and  look  at  life  as 
a  whole  unit,  never  caring  much  for  details. 

Small  writing,  as  in  Fig.  30,  naturally  indicates  the  op- 
posite to  the  large.  Those  who  are  much  preoccupied  with 


34  HOW  TO  READ 

details,  for  example  jurists,  professors,  literary  and  art 
critics,  teachers  and  others  who  are  habitually  segregated 
from  their  fellowmen,  often  write  a  small  hand;  as  do  eco- 
nomical and  parsimonious  persons.  A  sudden  change  from 
a  large  to  a  small  hand  may  frequently  indicate  a  tendency 
to  affection  of  the  brain. 

Nearsighted  persons  often  write  a  small  hand,  but  as  a 
complete  analysis  includes  the  consideration  of  all  indi- 
cated characteristics  it  is  easy  to  distinguish  this  condition. 

Small  writing,  when  plain  and  without  any  loops  and 
other  fanciful  unnecessary  decorations,  similar  to  specimen 
Fig.  31,  stands  for  simplicity,  modesty,  preference  for 
family  life,  economy,  little  desire  for  power;  a  well  de- 
veloped faculty  of  observation,  but  limited  horizon.  Ladies 
whose  handwriting  is  of  this  kind,  delight  in  home  work, 
like  lacemaking  and  embroidery. 


If  only  the  capital  or  first  letters  of  a  word  are  very 
large  but  the  other  letters  very  small,  as  in  Fig.  32,  so 
that  the  contrast  is  made  prominent  and  obvious,  vanity, 
egotism,  selfishness  and  affectation  will  be  surely  found. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


35 


Hence,  snobs  and  creatures  whose  only  title  to  superiority 
is  limited  to  their  own  belief,  are  easily  detected  by  this 
"earmark." 


32 


THE  SLOPE  OR  SLANT  OF  THE  WRITING 

THE  observation  of  the  slope  of  handwriting  is  essential. 
The  graphometer  (Fig.  5)  is  taken  from  my  book:  "Graph- 
ology," published  in  1902.  The  correctness  and  value  of 
the  instrument  have  been  repeatedly  tested  and  finally  es- 
tablished so  that  it  is  now  used  universally  by  grapholo- 
gists as  the  acid  test  of  the  real  inner,  or  soul-life  of  the 
writer.  This  feature  is  indispensable  to  experts  in  cases 
of  forgery  where  abnormal  variation  of  slope  or  slant  in 
the  forged  instrument  has  convincingly  proved  the  offense. 
Illustration  Fig.  33  shows  a  " strong  slanting  hand";  Fig. 
34  an  upright,  almost  vertical  writing,  and  Fig.  35  illus- 
trates a  backhand  writing. 


35 

Graphologists  have  proved  that  the  greater  the  slope 
or   slant,   the  more   sensitive,  nervous   and  irritable   the 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


37 


writer.  Women  and  girls  as  a  general  rule,  write  more 
slantingly  than  males.  Suffragettes  are  no  exception  and 
even  students  of  vertical  handwriting  incline  toward  slant- 
ing their  letters. 


The  psychological  explanation  of  this  sex  difference  in 
regard  to  handwriting  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  female 
generally  has  the  stronger  and  more  sensitive  feeling  and 
temperament.  The  above  specimen,  Fig.  36,  indicates  that 
the  writer  has  a  fair  amount  of  sensitiveness,  but  little 
passion. 

The  nexi  specimen,  Fig.  37,  with  a  slant  of  about  30°, 
indicates  great  sensitiveness,  in  fact,  a  nervous  irritability; 


37 


38 


HOW  TO  READ 


intolerance  of  contradiction,  which,  followed  by  argument, 
finally  ends  in  tears.  If  such  slanting  writing  consists  also 
of  strong,  regular  and  heavy  pen-strokes,  as  in  the  next 


specimen  (illustration  Fig.  38),  not  only  sensitiveness,  but 
a  strongly  passionate  nature  are  indicated.  The  writer 
will  not  tolerate  contradiction :  his  will  must  prevail,  other- 
wise tears,  hard  words,  or  even  blows  will  ensue- 
When  the  slope  or  the  slant  of  the  writing  becomes  less 
than  25° — as  in  Fig.  39 — then  we  look  for  sickly-soul  con- 
ditions and  a  pathological  irritability,  especially  if  the 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  39 

writing  is  very  thin,  sharp  and  angular.  Such  writers 
have  no  control  over  their  feelings  and  change  quickly  with 
surroundings  hysterically  inclined  persons  are  similarly 
characterized  and  indicated.  Writers  who  are  able  to  keej 
cool  and  control  their  feelings,  both  in  business  and  in 
private  affairs,  make  a  rather  straight  slant — say  from 
70°  to  80°,  as  in  specimen  Fig.  40,  similar  to  that  found 
in  the  next  specimen.  They  make  good  business  men  and 


40 

business  women.  They  reason  deliberately  and  fully  be- 
fore allowing  their  hearts  to  run  away  with  or  even  qualify 
their  judgment.  They  are  cool  natures  who  completely 
repress  sentiment. 

An  even,  almost  vertical  hand — like  Fig.  41  and  Fig.  42 — 
rather  neat  and  round,  without  many  angular,  left  and 
backhand  strokes,  indicates  politeness  and  courtesy  to 
strangers  and  natural  good  heartedness.  Such  writing  is 


4I 


40 


HOW  TO  READ 


frequently  adopted  by  ladies  in  middle  life  with  "histories" 
behind  them.     See  Fig.  43. 


These  naturally  become  more  distant  and  reserved,  as 
is  indicated  not  only  in  their  writing  but  also  by  their 
facial  expression. 


43  *, 


41 

When  the  slant  is  backward — as  in  Fig.  43-a — we  may  be 
sure  of  the  writer's  deceitfulness  and  hypocrisy.  I  have 
never  in  my  30  years'  graphological  experience,  found  a 
single  case  of  backhand  writing  where  the  writer  did  not, 
sooner  or  later,  conform  to  my  graphometer.  Such  writers 
are  untrustworthy  and  unreliable,  with  a  streak  of  deceit, 
hypocritical  cunning  and  willingness  to  stab  their  best 
friend  in  the  back,  in  business  or  in  love. 


The  above  specimens,  Fig.  44  and  Fig.  45,  are  those  of 
two  co-partners  in  a  law  firm;  both  pleasant,  sociable  fel- 
lows under  certain  circumstances;  both  smooth  and  over- 
polite  when  occasion  demands;  yet  both  succeeded  for  sev- 
eral years,  in  deceiving  their  best  friends  with  hypocrisy 
inspired  by  criminal  selfishness. 

When  analyzing  backhand  specimens,  the  graphologist 
must  always  make  due  allowance  for  naturally  left-handed 
writers  and  librarians  who  have  perhaps  honestly  con- 
tracted a  vertical  style.  See  illustration  Fig.  46,  written 
by  a  librarian  of  30  years'  experience. 


42 


HOW  TO  READ 


If,  in  a  writing,  letters  of  a  line  or  of  a  word  vary  from 
backhand  and  straight  to  slanting  —  as  illustrated  in  the 
next  specimen,  Fig.  47  —  a  constant  conflict  between  the 
heart  and  the  brain  is  indicated.  Many  persons  write  thus 
who  do  not  live  under  congenial  conditions. 


JL, 


i 


47 


If  the  vertical  letters  of  a  script  are  more  frequent  than 
the  slanting  letters,  as  shown  in  specimens  Fig.  48,  Fig. 
49  and  Fig.  50,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  reason 
and  self-control  are  in  the  saddle ;  but  if  the  slanting  letters 
are  more  numerous,  then  passion,  anger  and  touchy  irri- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


43 


tability  predominate.  Exclamation-points  and  question- 
marks  must  be  similarly  read.  Quick-tempered  and  pas- 
sionate persons  generally  slant  these  very  much,  as  is 
shown  in  the  third  illustrated  specimen. 


/ 


46 


49-50 


WOEDS  WITH  LARGER  AND  SMALLER  ENDINGS 

Children  will  generally  write  the  letters  of  a  word,  es- 
pecially one  of  two  or  more  syllables,  longer  and  larger 
toward  the  end  of  the  wrord  than  at  the  beginning,  some- 
what like  the  next  specimen,  Fig.  51. 


In  spite  of  the  frequency  or  severity  of  correction,  chil- 
dren will  always  resume  this  habit  until  it  is  outgrown. 

If  we  find  such  writing  in  cases  of  adults,  we  may  safely 
put  them  down  as  persons  with  small  and  backward  minds 
who  nevertheless  are  likely  to  have  positive,  but  narrow, 
childish  views  and  ideas.  Simple-minded  people  write  in 
this  manner,  also  elderly  men  and  women  with  incipient 
dotage.  This  simply  means  that  the  persons  are  in  their 
second  childhood,  able  to  reproduce  with  wonderful  ac- 
curacy what  they  did  in  their  early  years,  while  their  mem- 
ory fails  to  serve  them  in  regard  to  how  they  did  things 
later  in  life.  The  last  illustration,  Fig.  51,  is  that  of  a 
seven  year  old  child,  the  next  two  are  those  of  men  over 

44 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  45 

seventy-five  years  of  age  who,  when  ten  years  younger, 
wrote  an  even  and  correct  hand.  See  Fig.  52  and  Fig.  52-a. 
Forgetfulness  has  now  become  a  characteristic. 


52 


52a 

Such  writers  are  garrulous  and  tedious  in  company, 
while  it  may  be  added,  a  person  of  middle  age  or  younger 
who  thus  writes,  and  who  may  seem  bright,  active  and 
cultured,  will  probably  be  a  victim  of  paresis  Or  paranoia 
at  no  distant  day. 

The  next  illustration,  Fig.  53,  is  taken  from  a  letter 
written  by  Oscar  Wilde,  when  he  was  in  his  28th  year.  It 
shows  strong  individuality,  loquaciousness  and  imagina- 
tion, self-consciousness  and  unconventionality,  bordering 
en  abandon,  and  a  desire  to  overstep  liberty  and  conven- 
tion ;  also  a  very  active  nervous  system,  or  what  the  French 
call:  "Une  nature  toujours  vibrante."  The  script  also 
reveals  aesthetic  sensuousness  and  a  lack  of  resistance- 
power;  a  dreamer,  to  whom  work  is  repugnant.  View  the 
next  specimen,  Fig.  54,  written  by  him  ten  years  later  and 
observe  how  the  weak  sides  of  his  character  have  become 


4(5 


HOW  TO  READ 


more  pronounced  than  the  few  strong  characteristics  he 
evinced  when  he  wrote  the  first  letter.  Excitement  per- 
vades the  whole  writing.  His  sensuousness  has  developed 


considerably  with  a  strong  propensity  to  abandon  him- 
self to  his  proclivities,  most  unconventional  and  unnatural. 
The  opposite  to  the  increasing  is  the  diminishing  endings 
of  words  and  lines.    Shrewd,  cunning,  ' '  smart ' '  people  and 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  47 

many  diplomats  write  thus.  The  next  three  specimens  il- 
lustrate this  point  fully,  see  Fig.  55-a,  Fig.  55-b  and  Fig. 
55-c.  This  writing  creates  the  impression  that  the  writer 
is  actuated  by  the  desire  to  retain  possession,  as  it  were, 
of  the  last  syllable  of  his  words  or  the  endings  of  his  sen- 
tences. This  brings  to  mind  the  case  of  diplomats,  who 
exemplify  this  constant  effort  to  retain,  or  conceal,  thoughts 
when  ostensibly  parting  with,  that  is,  expressing  them. 
This  means  that  they  expressly  conceal  by  their  language, 
and  retain  buried  deep  in  their  souls  that  which  they  pro- 
fess to  openly  express. 


55  a, 
/^C^C^L^ 


55  b 


55  c 

If  words  or  syllables  end  with  a  horizontal  dash  or  line 
uniformly  and  not  here  or  there  throughout  the  script, 
as  in  Fig.  56,  we  may  safely  include  among  the  charac- 


48 


HOW  TO  READ 


56 

teristics  of  the  writer,  secretiveness  and  ability  to  disguise 
real  feelings  with  the  mask  of  an  outward  smile.  Such 
people  employ  great  cunning  in  their  dealings. 

//  word-endings  diminish  only  slightly  and  do  not  any- 
where run  out  into  a  horizontal  line,  as  in  Fig.  57,  prudence 


*^*        • 


57 

and  reserve  are  indicated,  as  in  the  case  of  worldly-wise 
characters  who  never  tell  all  they  know  at  one  time,  and 
who  learn  quickly  through  experience. 

When  we  find  in  the  same  specimen  both  increasing  and 
diminishing  word-endings,  as  shown  in  illustration  Fig.  58, 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  49 

the  writer  is  reserved  and  secretive  as  well  as  open  and 
conscientious. 

Larger  growing  word-endings  finishing  with  a  heavy, 
thick,  downward  pen-stroke,  which  sometimes  crosses  the 
other  letters  of  a  word,  as  in  Fig.  59,  indicate  energy  and 


< 


ambition;  also  violence  and  passion.  Such  writers  never 
stop  to  contemplate  the  consequences  of  their  acts  upon 
others,  whom  they  hardly  ever  consider. 


« 

Whenever  we  find  words  with  letters  of  an  even  length 
or  height,  as  in  Fig.  60,  growing  neither  larger  nor  smaller, 
we  may  always  feel  safe  in  giving  the  writer  a  clean  bill 
of  health  as  to  morals  and  conscience. 

They  are  as  a  rule  trustworthy  and  upright. 


ROUND  AND  ANGULAR  WRITING 

All  handwritings  are  either  round  or  angular.  It  is  easy 
for  even  a  layman  to  understand  that  a  jovial  person  of 
easy  going  habits,  with  smooth  conversational  ability  and 
a  peace-loving  nature,  will  write  a  round,  smoothly  flowing 
hand,  somewhat  like  the  next  specimen,  Fig.  61.  Con- 


61 

versely,  the  energetic,  serene,  stern,  cold  and  hard-hearted 
person  would  naturally  make  rather  angular  letters  with 
many  sharp  corners  and  points,  like  the  following  illus- 
tration, Fig.  62. 


62 

60 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


51 


If  handwriting  of  rounded  and  curved  letters  consists 
of  thin,  weak  pen-strokes  with  the  lines  having  downward 
tendency,  similar  to  the  specimen  Fig.  63,  we  may  safely 


analyze  it  as  that  of  a  very  easy  going  and  lazy  person 
who  possesses  little  or  no  physical  or  moral  courage. 

A  distinct  graphological  sign  of  love  of  justice  and  fair- 
ness is  found  in  sharp  or  angular  writings  that  end  at  each 
word  with  the  last  pen-stroke  forming  a  right  angle,  similar 
to  Fig.  64.  Such  handwriting  indicates  persons  who  are 


generally  most  sincere,  honest  and  good-hearted;  they  are 
the  soul  of  justice  and  fairness,  and  they  generally  express 
themselves  with  a  frankness  which  is  bordering  on  rude- 
ness. 


52  HOW  TO  READ 

Cruelty,  brutality  and  animal  instincts  are  expressed  in 
angular  handwritings,  where  all  edges  and  corners  of  the 
various  letters  look  like  sharp,  prickling  thorns,  as  in  Fig. 
65.  All  cruel  natures  write  thus.  I  have  examined  per- 


*^*^^^^*^<A^^rv^ 


haps  five  hundred  specimens  of  the  handwriting  of  pris- 
oners who  were  confined  for  murder,  manslaughter,  homi- 
cide. rape,  and  assault.  Very  seldom  did  I  find  this  char- 
acteristic missing  in  these  cases,  perhaps  in  not  more  than 
1%.  When  the  final  strokes  of  such  writing  are  excep- 
tionally sharp,  thick  and  large,  as  in  illustration  Fig.  65-a, 


65  a. 


we  have  also  great  inconsiderateness,  tyranny  and  use  of 
power  for  cruel  and  selfish  ends. 

Members  of  the  female  sex  who  habitually  use  very  an- 
gular letters  and  no  round  or  curved  strokes  at  all  are 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


53 


best  let  alone.  (See  specimen  Fig.  66.)  They  invariably 
develop  into  undesirable  spinsters  or  old  maids  and  never 
into  good  wives  or  mothers.  They  never  tire  of  complain- 
ing that  'they  have  "such  hard  work  to  get  along"  with 
their  neighbors  and  their  family. 

They  seldom  make  or  keep  friends.  They  must  always 
have  the  last  word,  whether  right  or  wrong.  It  is  there- 
fore advisable  for  both  men  and  women  to  select  as  friends 
or  life  partners  persons  whose  handwriting  is  composed 
of  an  equal  number  of  round  and  angular  letters  or  pen- 
strokes,  for  this  proportion  will  insure  the  combination  of 
the  good,  severe  qualities  with  amiability,  sociability, 
adaptability  and  courtesy. 


PLAIN  AND  FANCY  WRITING 

Plain  writing  consists  of  letters  made  without  any  un- 
necessary strokes  or  fanciful  additions.  See  illustration 
Fig.  67. 


&**^ 


-c       <*0+^    ~^*<>-c 


Persons  of  a  strong  and  powerful  intellectuality  gener- 
ally write  a  very  plain  and  simple  hand.  They  have  no 
time  to  think  of  how  they  write  but  only  of  what  they  are 
writing.  They  produce,  as  a  rule,  clear,  easily  read  chiro- 
graphy. 

Plain  writing  indicates  clearness  and  level-headedness, 
while  intermixed  and  interwoven  letters  and  pen-strokes, 

54 


55 

like  Fig.  68,  signify  either  a  muddlehead  or  a  cunning, 
tricky  mind. 


Persons  who  write  very  plain,  pointed  capital  letters,  as 
in  Fig.  69,  or  the  first  letters  of  whose  words  throughout 
their  writing  are  plain  and  pointed,  always  have  much  love 
for  art  and  the  beautiful  in  nature;  they  see  at  once  only 
the  beauty  and  goodness  of  their  environment  before  even 
noticing  the  unpleasant  side. 


fe 


9 


tl 


56 


HOW  TO  READ 


They  have  good  taste  in  general  and  a  desire  to  be  cor- 
rect and  exact  as  well  as  plain  in  their  daily  life;  they 
rarely  care  much  for  outward  show.  There  are  not  many 
women  of  this  class;  when  you  find  one,  cultivate  her. 

One's  occupation  is  frequently  very  plainly  indicated  in 
his  handwriting.  The  writing  of  persons  with  large  coarse 
hands,  who  are  obliged  to  do  manual  labor,  is  generally 
heavy  and  clumsy,  while  others  with  delicate,  thin  taper- 
ing fingers,  generally  write  in  daintier  style.  The  latter 
can,  if  required,  make  heavier  strokes,  but  the  heavy, 
clumsy  or  vulgar  person  cannot  very  well  write  an  elegant 
hand. 


70 

Musicians  frequently  indicate  their  profession  in  their 
handwriting  by  unconsciously  making  letters  similar  to 
musical  notes  and  cleffs.  Fig.  70  is  the  signature  of  Pad- 
erewTsky,  the  well-known  pianist 

Many  musicians  make  marks  like  violin  bows  or  note- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  57 


keys  as  part  of  their  signatures.  Illustration  Fig.  71  is 
the  signature  of  the  famous  tenor,  Caruso,  and  Fig.  72 
that  of  the  violinist,  Fritz  Kreisler.  Fig.  73  is  the  signa- 


ture of  the  opera  singer,  Geraldine  Farrar.     All  plainly 
show  their  musical  proclivities  in  their  handwriting. 

Professors  and  students  of  Latin,  Greek  and  other  dead 
or  oriental  languages  frequently  make  in  their  writings 


letters  that  originated  in  the  ancient  alphabets  and  which 
are  similar  to  Greek  letters.  Fig.  74  is  the  signature  of  a 
professor  of  Latin  and  Greek. 

Physicians  and  druggists  often  fashion  certain  of  their 
letters  to  resemble  chemical  signs,  just  as  employed  when 
they  are  writing  prescriptions.  Figs.  75,  76  and  76-a  are 


58 


HOW  TO  READ 


specimens  of  chemists  and  assayers ;  Fig.  77  that  of  a  promi- 
nent and  successful  physician  and  Fig.  77-a  of  a  student  of 
biology. 


76 


J~* — X_-/CA^O-> 


76a 


77 


77a 


The  same  characteristic  holds  good  with  regard  to  teach- 
ers of  mathematics  and  to  accountants.  They  very  often 
make  letters  single  or  combined  with  others  that  much  re- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


59 


semhle  figures.     The  signatures  Fig.  78  and  Fig.  79  are 
those  of  a  railroad  accountant  and  a  comptroller. 


^Vt-v«->. 


<*./.;/ 

/kA/JL^ 


When  one's  writing,  especially  that  of  a  female,  shows 
sudden  thickening  of  various  down  strokes,  similar  to  Fig. 
80,  we  may  safely  interpret  this  peculiarity  as  a  yearning 
for  someone  to  love.  Many  spinsters  write  thus,  and  the 


60 


HOW  TO  READ 


further  they  plod  through  life,  the  more  do  they  emphasize 
this  sudden  thickening  of  the  downward  strokes  of  one  or 
more  letters  of  a  word.  Such  writers  attach  much  impor- 
tance to  outward  show  and  to  etiquette.  They  love  to  fondle 
and  caress  little  children  and  members  of  the  opposite  sex. 
Tendency  to  vanity  and  a  desire  to  please  are  among  their 
characteristics.  Of  course  there  are  also  many  men,  espe- 
cially in  professional  and  student  life,  and  widowers,  who 
write  in  this  style;  friends  often  call  them  "fussy."  (See 
Fig.  81.) 


81 


A  very  plain  copy-book  hand,  like  Fig.  82  such  as  many 
clerks,  bookkeepers  and  professionals  write  is  of  little  value 
for  analyzing  character.  It  is  better  to  get  an  intimate  let- 
ter from  such  a  person.  If  however,  he  always  uses  such 
a  regular  school-hand,  even  in  his  friendly  and  love  letters, 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  61 

we  may  deduce  that  he  has  little  or  no  originality,  ingenuity 
or  intuition,  nor  should  it  puzzle  him  to  explain  why  he 
never  attains  a  higher  position  in  life  than  that  of  a  clerk 
or  bookkeeper. 

There  are  "dirty"  handwritings,  like  the  specimen  Fig. 
83  ;  that  is  to  say,  we  receive  such  an  impression  with  our 
first  look  at  the  specimen.  For  instance  there  are  exceed- 
ingly heavy  penstrokes  combined  with  ink-spots  and  finger- 
marks scattered  here  and  there,  just  as  if  greasy  finger- 
tips impressed  the  paper;  little  or  no  care  is  taken  to 
preserve  margin  or  space;  all  of  which  imparts  to  the 
whole  letter  a  soiled  appearance.  Such  writing  we  would  of 


course  at  once  ascribe  to  persons  of  careless,  even  un- 
cleanly habits,  in  their  daily  life;  they  frequently  allow 
their  clothing  to  be  without  buttons;  their  finger-nails  and 
other  parts  of  their  person  manifest  an  innocence  of  soap 
and  water,  and  they  display  indifference  to  comeliness, 
cleanliness,  and  order. 


SPECIMENS  of  handwriting  which  are  regular  throughout, 
similar  to  Fig.  84,  indicate  a  steady,  constant  character. 
Persons  who  love  to  pursue  "the  even  tenor  of  their  way" 
in  life;  whose  views  and  thoughts  and  ideals  are  not 
changed  quickly  by  any  chance  misadventure  of  the  mo- 


ment,  write  thus;  their  letters  maintain  from  beginning 
to  end  a  uniform  width  and  length. 

Of  course,  if  we  happen  to  find  writings  where  the  regu- 
larity of  the  letters,  the  margins  on  the  left  of  the  page, 
the  distance  between  the  lines,  and  especially  the  placing  of 


•^\r^Okr-oCcxJoofr-^>.       <w_j-s3C/Vv.     "$CvO^- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


63 


commas,  periods  and  question  marks  and  exclamation- 
points,  seem  rather  systematic  and  deliberate  —  similar  to 
Fig.  85  —  we  conclude  that  one  of  the  principal  character- 
istics of  the  writer  is  pedantry,  with  scarcely  any  power  of 
adaptability.  Such  a  person  must  generally  have  his  own 


way  in  everything  or  be  unhappy.  There  are  others,  again, 
who  write  a  very  regular  hand,  but  now  and  then  vary 
and  make  slight  departures  from  their  usually  stiff  and 
formal  letters,  as  in  Fig.  86.  These  people  are  at  least 
open  to  conviction  and  are  more  considerate  of  other  people. 
Whenever  handwriting  is  irregular  and  varies  as  to  the 
letters  as  shown  in  specimen  Fig.  87,  it  indicates  an  eccen- 


64 


HOW  TO  READ 


trie  or  fickle  character.  Such  irregularity  however  may  be 
very  limited,  in  which  case  it  may  simply  denote  activity 
and  love  of  change  and  diversion. 

Fickleness  in  love  affairs  is  frequently  found  in  such 
writers  —  like  that  of  Fig.  88  —  yet  I  have  known  several 


88 


persons  of  both  sexes,  who  were — each  of  them — according 
to  their  viewpoint,  absolutely  in  love  with  two  persons  of 
the  opposite  sex  at  the  same  time,  and  who  were  actually 
true  and  faithful  to  both.  Their  nature  simply  seemed  to 
demand  a  change  from  the  one  to  the  other  idol,  but  never- 
theless enough  character  remained  to  preserve  the  worship 
of  the  old  and  first  love. 


65 


Nervous,  whimsical  people  who  have  little  or  no  sense  of 
order  or  time,  often  make  strong,  irregular  changes  in  their 
handwriting.  Observe  specimen  Fig.  89. 

//  such  changeable  handwriting  is  composed  of  very  thin 
and  fine  pen-strokes,  as  in  Fig.  90,  casually  made  and  with- 


o 


90 


out  any  fixed  plan,  the  writer  is  very  easily  influenced  by 
others. 


66 


HOW  TO  READ 


When  we  find  such  a  very  irregular  hand,  especially  if 
very  thin  and  fine,  and  at  the  same  time  rather  broad  and 
wide,  similar  to  Fig.  91  and  Fig.  92,  with  frequent  omis- 


sions  of  strokes,  we  have  indications  of  superficiality. 
These  are  writers  who  are  very  indulgent  in  extenuating 
their  own  pleasant  vices  and  those  of  their  immediate 
families,  especially  in  regard  to  laws  of  morality,  but  they 


are  unmerciful  in  their  denunciation  of  strangers  who  vio- 
late the  moral  law. 

Now  and  then  we  come  upon  handwriting  where  a  cer- 
tain forced  irregularity  of  letters  is  very  obvious  and  plain. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  67 

(See  Fig.  93  and  Fig.  94.)     Such  specimens  are  written 

4      LJL*^*,      ~fa^L»        L~*     ^    - 

-/^L-^rtA/-»\_ 

J^L 


cu/.- 


while  the  person  was  exerting  all  his  will  power  in  order 
to  suppress  bodily  pain  or  nervous  weakness  so  that  he 
could  do  his  duty  or  some  task  he  had  undertaken  to  do.  I 
have  accordingly  seen  many  notes  written  by  wounded  or 
dying  soldiers  and  therefore  under  terrible  nervous  strain 


94 

and  yet  their  writing  was  far  more  regular  and  even  than 
if  penned  under  normal  conditions. 


WIDE  AND  NARROW  WRITING 

All  writing  at  first  glance,  seems  to  be  either  wide  or 
narrow.  It  is  easy  to  analyze  the  broad,  wide  writing  as 
that  of  a  person,  free,  and  more  liberal  and  generous  than 
of  a  person  whose  writing  is  smaller  and  tapers  toward  the 


S-^f  v, 


end  of  each  line  and  page.  Just  as  the  liberal,  generous 
person,  who  needs  more  room  for  himself  in  his  daily  life, 
is  also  freer  with  the  use  of  a  sheet  of  paper  when  writing 
— like  Fig.  95 — in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same  extent 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  69 

in  the  opposite  direction  does  the  close-fisted,  very  economi- 
cal person  skimp  in  paper,  similar  to  Fig.  96.  He  crowds 
all  letters  closely  together  and  he  leaves  hardly  any  space 
between  the  lines  and  seldom  any  margin.  The  careful, 
saving  person,  although  compelled  to  conform  to  society's 
laws  and  leave  a  fair  margin  on  the  left  side  of  the  pages 
of  his  letters,  will  always  make  up  for  this  by  completely 
filling  the  right  margin  of  the  page. 

Mean,  stingy,  avaricious  and  miserly  people  write  still 
more  skimpily,  somewhat  like  Fig.  97  and  Fig.  98.  They 
leave  no  margin  as  a  rule,  make  hardly  any  end  strokes 


97 

to  their  words  and  use  sharp  and  rather  vertical  letters. 
Incidentally,  these  characteristics  are  an  additional  grapho- 
logical  symptom  of  egotism  and  selfishness. 


v 


98 


""    CUtAMtJ  <ht&S* 
*~*  ~  ~^  •* 


Sometimes  we  find  a  rather  narrow  handwriting  like  Fig. 
98,  with  rounded  and  curved  pen-strokes.    The  writer  while 


70 


HOW  TO  READ 


thrifty,  economical  and  saving,  is  also  generous,  and  is 

entitled  to  be  called  generous  in  spite  of  thrift  and  economy. 

A  large,  round  and  wide  hand,  which  is  never  backhand- 

like  Fig.  99  —  indicates  liberality;  often  long  end  strokes  are 


X? 

&£*-<+£&(.     J^-^c 


found,  but  the  writing  as  a  whole  looks  rather  orderly  and 
regular. 

If  however,  the  foregoing  characteristic  is  combined  with 
very  irregular  margins  and  extremely  long  end-strokes,  or 
words  with  letters  very  wide  and  large  and  round,  written 


quickly  and  often  at  an  angle,  of  40  degrees  or  less,  as  Fig. 
100,  we  may  be  safe  in  interpreting  it  as  the  writing  of  an 
over-liberal  person. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


71 


All  spendthrifts  write  in  this  style  and  if  bank-tellers  and 
cashiers  have  a  tendency  to  write  thus,  it  is  always  a  safer 
and  wiser  course  to  discharge  them,  for  sooner  or  later, 
when  the  right  opportunity  presents  itself,  with  the  tempta- 
tion at  hand,  such  natural  spendthrifts  are  very  likely  to 
yield.  They  often  repent,  'tis  true,  but  only  when  too  late 


(X      <^L 

"v^ns —  AAjJ^Aj^ 

\lf- 

r^XT^ 


101 


to  retrace  their  steps,  to  make  amends  or  to  undo  the  past, 
to  wipe  out  the  stain  and  loss  of  character. 

A  strong,  broad  hand,  such  as  is  illustrated  in  specimen 
Fig.  101,  indicates  liberality  as  well  as  adaptability.  A 
wide  and  broad  hand,  somewhat  like  Fig.  102  means  that 
the  writers  live  outside  their  own  little  world;  they  have 


72  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

many-sided  interests,  are  versatile,  polite  and  courteous  to 
strangers. 


IQZ  a. 

A  very  narrow  hand  would  naturally  indicate  none  of 
the  preceding  characteristics  but  rather  the  opposite  ones. 
Such  writers  feel  more  at  home  when  revolving  in  their  own 
narrow  circle  than  when  thrown  into  general  intercourse 
with  their  fellow-men;  they  are  more  apt  to  be  stiff  and 
formal  than  free  and  easy,  while  at  the  same  time  courteous 
and  respectful.  They  have  not  what  the  French  term 
"  savoir  faire."  (See  Fig.  102A.) 


THIN  AND  THICK  WKITINO 

Heavy  down  strokes  of  the  pen  in  letters  is  considered 
thick  writing,  while  thin  and  fine  down  strokes,  made  with- 
out much  pressure  of  the  pen,  is  called  thin  writing.  Of 
course,  graphologists,  when  analyzing  a  specimen  of  writ- 
ing, always  ascertain  and  consider  what  kind  of  a  pen — 
whether  fountain  or  stub,  hard,  soft  or  sharp — was  used, 
also  what  kind  of  ink,  thick  or  thin.  Fig.  103  illustrates 
thick  writing  and  Fig.  104  is  a  fair  specimen  of  thin  writing. 


103 


As  a  general  rule,  materialists  who  have  strong  passions, 
write  a  thick  hand,  while  the  fine  hand  is  used  more  by  the 
idealistic,  spiritual-minded  and  passionless  natures.  Speci- 
mens written  with  pencil  are  of  little  value  for  estimating 


73 


74 


HOW  TO  READ 


105 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  75 

the  thickness  or  thinness  of  writing.     Specimens  Fig.  105, 
Fig.  106  and  Fig.  107  illustrate  these  points. 


JJVs^  ^NJs^O^^oOUj,/ 


107 


A  very  sloping,  thick  hand,  like  Fig.  108  and  Fig.  108- A, 
in  which  the  loops  of  the  letters  1,  t,  g,  b,  y  and  f,  are  gen- 
erally closed  or  filled  out  with  ink,  and  where  the  i  dots  are 


ros 


108  a 

heavy  and  set  low,  this  indicates  a  strong  passion  for  the 
other  sex,  sensuousness,  and  a  fondness  for  the  luxuries  of 
life,  especially  the  pleasures  of  the  " table,"  and  little  desire 
or  ambition  to  stick  to  a  job  or  position  where  discomforts 
and  hard  work  are  necessary.  Such  writers  will  often  take 


76 


HOW  TO  READ 


trouble  and  even  suffer  great  discomfort  to  please  a  friend, 
but  this  they  do  hoping  that  at  some  future  day  they  will 
be  amply  recompensed,  even  should  the  reward  be  only 
transient. 

There  are  also  thin  handwritings,  well  illustrated  in  Fig. 
109,  which  indicate  great  sensuousness,  affording  no  indica- 
tion of  energy,  steadfastness  or  perseverance.  Such  writ- 
ing always  inclines  at  a  very  sloping  angle  on  the  line,  with 
the  lines  running  downward.  Such  writers  have  very  little 


power  of  resistance  to  sexual  excitement  and  temptation. 
They  yield  easily  on  account  of  this  weakness  and  are  apt  to 
lapse  into  sexual  excesses  and  degeneracy. 

//  in  addition  to  the  preceding  features  we  find  very  large 
and  wide  curving  loops  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  letters  g, 
y,  f  and  z,  as  showTn  in  the  specimen  Fig.  110,  we  detect  great 
sexual  desire;  a  dangerous  passionateness  which,  if  not 


X 


,A**JL*J> 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  77 

gratified,  may  frequently  lead  to  pathological  and  criminal 
cases  in  later  life. 

Very  energetic,  courageous  and  initiatively  active  per- 
sons often  make  both  the  up  and  down  strokes  of  letters 
heavy  and  with  even  pressure,  as  in  specimen  Fig.  111. 


\\\ 


On  the  other  hand,  the  hesitating,  diffident  and  bashful 
person,  generally  intuitively,  makes  hardly  any  heavy 
strokes  ;  his  pen  just  glides  over  the  paper,  as  in  Fig.  112. 


7 


/z? 
' 


Then  again  we  find  specimens  of  handwriting  where  here 
and  there  a  down  stroke  is  made  very  thick  and  heavy,  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  previous  or  subsequent  strokes  of 
perhaps  the  same  letters,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  113.  This 


/O~<^^ 


78 


HOW  TO  READ 


peculiarity  we  can  interpret  as  characteristic  of  a  person 
who  has  energetic  inclinations  at  intervals,  but  no  con- 
tinuity. 

Where  the  up  and  down  strokes  of  the  various  letters 
are  made  deliberately  plain  and  distinguishable,  and  the 
whole  hand  is  strong,  steady  and  even,  and  not  too  sloping 
— similar  to  Fig.  114 — a  very  strong  passionate  nature, 
which  is  however  always  under  control,  is  indicated. 


114 


Strong-willed  men  and  women  of  great  force  and  desire 
write  thus.  They  have  acquired  control  of  their  feelings 
and  desires,  but  have  not  completely  suppressed  or  sub- 
dued them. 

It  is  also  found  that  persons  who  write  a  strong,  thick 
hand  which  stands  out  in  bold  relief  from  the  paper,  some- 
what like  Fig.  115  and  Fig.  116,  generally  like  heavy,  bright 
and  deep  colors  in  their  surroundings  and,  on  the  other 


U5 


CHARACTER  PROM  HANDWRITING  79 


ff 


J 


hand,  persons  who  write  a  fine,  thin  hand — like  Fig.  117, 
always  prefer  light  and  delicate  colors. 


l\7 


89  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

When  strong,  heavy  and  thick  writing  also  shows  com- 
mon inharmonious  forms,  especially  in  its  capital  letters, 
as  in  Fig  118,  we  can  safely  contend  that  the  writer,  al- 
though a  gourmet,  yet  loves  loud,  glaring,  contrasting 
colors,  and  has  little  good  taste  in  general. 


SEPARATE  AND  CONNECTED  LETTERS 

As  a  general  rule  indorsed  by  all  graphologists,  people 
who  connect  all  their  letters  and  sometimes  even  their  words, 
as  in  illustrations  Fig.  119  and  Fig.  120,  are  practical,  logi- 


1 20 


cal  thinkers  and  reasoners.  Such  writers  have  good  memo- 
ries and  easily  seize  and  assimilate  the  ideas  of  others,  but 
they  are  stubborn,  more  set  in  their  ways  and  harder  to 
convince  than  writers  who  disconnect  their  letters  and  keep 

81 


82  HOW  TO  READ 

them  separate,  as  in  Fig.  121  and  Fig.  122,  and  sometimes 
even  divide  the  parts  of  each  letter.     These  writers  have 


J2I 


little  or  no  logic,  but  are  generally  quite  intuitive  and  per- 
ceive and  apprehend  quickly.  Persons  who  are  naturally 
inclined  toward  occultism,  astrology  and  clairvoyance  write 
their  letters  with  separate  strokes.  I  have  often  discovered 


and  denounced  palmists  and  astrologists  as  fakers  and 
mountebanks  because  their  handwriting  gave  no  indication 
of  intuitive  ability;  they  posed  as  professors  of  the  occult 
merely  as  a  money-making  business  and  their  professional 
capital  was  strictly  limited  to  a  general  knowledge  of  the 
rules  of  palmistry.  In  making  analyses  we,  of  course,  come 
upon  handwriting  where  letters  are  partly  connected  and 
partly  separated.  In  such  cases  we  must  make  our  own 
deductions.  If,  as  in  the  specimen  illustrated  here,  Fig.  123, 
the  connected  and  separated  letters  are  equally  divided,  in 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  83 

number  or  quantity  on  a  page,  we  have  a  character  in  ideal 
equilibrium.  The  writer  has  the  ability  to  organize  his  own 
ideas  and  thoughts  into  valuable  units  as  well  as  to  seize 
what  is  valuable  in  other  people's  ideas  and  utilize  it.  We 
have  here  idealism  and  realism,  observation  and  judgment, 
adaptability  as  well  as  psychic  independence. 


123 


When  more  letters  are  separated  than  connected,  as  in  the 
next  specimen  shown,  Fig.  124,  the  writer  is  more  intuitive 


&s 


V  / 

184       • 


than  deductive.  He  has  his  own  ideas  of  matters ;  likes  to 
occupy  himself,  now  with  this  and  now  with  that  plan  or 
undertaking,  but  lacks  the  logical  or  deductive  ability  to 
profit  by  comparing  them. 

Practical  persons  generally  connect  more  letters  than 


84  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

they  separate  in  their  writing,  as  shown  in  specimen  Fig. 
125.    A  strong  sense  of  the  practical  and  useful  has  con- 


tracted,  but  not  entirely  minimized,  in  such  writers  their 
desire  for  speculation  and  theory,  and  they  are  often  fooled 
by  the  glib,  smooth  talk  or  "slick"  plans  of  designing  per- 
sons. Many  letters  and  even  words  are  often  connected  or 
strung  together,  that  is  to  say,  they  are  written  in  one  pen- 
stroke,  as  appears  in  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  126.  They 


12* 

who  write  thus  ha?e  very  little  ability  or  initiative  to  origi- 
nate ideas,  but  they  excel  in  adopting  those  of  others  and  in 
even  utilizing  them  more  successfully  than  the  originators, 
and  they  often  do  this  quite  intuitively. 

Writers  who  always  keep  the  first  letter  of  a  word  sepa- 
rated while  the  rest  of  the  letters  of  the  word  are  connected, 
as  in  Fig.  127,  have  a  fine  sense  of  direction  and  locality; 


127 


they  are  careful  to  pause  and  determine  "  whether  a  bridge 
is  safe  or  not  before  they  attempt  to  cross  it."  They  are 
close  observers  and  able  to  form  correct  judgment  of  per- 
sons and  conditions. 


There  are  many  different  ways  of  making  the  first  stroke 
in  writing  or  forming  a  letter  of  the  alphabet.  Some  writ- 
ers use  a  long  straight  line;  others  use  a  curved  stroke; 
still  others  use  no  first  stroke  at  all,  but  start  right  in  with 
the  body  itself  of  the  letter.  Writers  who  do  not  make  a 
first  or  initial  stroke,  in  which  case  the  formation  is  started 
at  once  with  a  downstroke,  as  in  Fig.  128,  generally  have  a 


128 


positive  nature ;  they  can,  as  a  rule,  concentrate .  their 
thoughts  quickly  and  grasp  immediately  the  point  in  ques- 
tion or  at  issue;  they  have  therefore  little  love  for  pre- 
liminary details,  which  they  generally  consider  unnecessary. 
It  is  consequently  not  surprising  to  find  that  such  writers 
are  very  efficient  as  fighters — in  war  or  business. 

Long  horizontal  initial  strokes,  when  combined  with  angu- 
lar and  sharp  writing,  similar  to  Fig.  129,  indicate  con- 
siderable spirit  in  opposition,  in  argument,  in  debate  or  any 
matter  in  which  the  \vriter  takes  part.  He  -may  be  depended 
upon  to  take  the  opposite  view  on  every  question  and  is 

85 


86 


what  the  French  term 
terms  with. 


HOW  TO  READ 

difficile"  or  hard  to  be  on  good 


'&*><s&---r^7*«*^ 


If  these  long  initial  strokes  are  found  in  conjunction  with 
round  and  curved  writing,  as  in  No.  130,  a  milder  form  of 
opposition  is  indicated — an  opposition  which  is  more  born 


130 


rather  of  the  social  enjoyment  of  a  discussion  and  a  genuine 

desire  for  enlightenment,  than  of  pugnacity  or  coarseness. 

If  we  find  that  the  last  stroke  of  letters  is  very  sharp, 


131 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


87 


ending  in  a  fine  point,  as  in  specimen  Fig.  131,  especially 
where  the  first  strokes  of  letters  are  long  and  horizontal, 
we  rest  assured  of  discovering  among  the  writer's  char- 
acteristics a  pronounced  inclination  to  oppose  or  contradict, 
at  the  risk  even  of  affecting  sincerity  of  the  writer  and  of 
sacrificing  his  honest  convictions,  and  there  is  also  a  strong 
desire,  and  often  the  ability,  for  effective  general  criticism. 
Round  and  curved  first  strokes,  somewhat  like  Fig.  132 — 
indicate  jollity,  humor,  wit  and  the  ability  to  entertain. 


«  132 

In  addition  to  the  preceding  large  pen-strokes,  consisting 
of  big  curves,  many  carefree,  easy-going,  sanguine  persons 
with  fertile  imaginations,  frequently  make  bows  and  half- 
circles,  especially  when  beginning  their  capital  letters  and 
signing  their  names,  as  in  Fig.  133. 


//  these  curves  and  half-circles  are  very  large  throughout 
a  writing,  the  writer  is  inclined  to  be  talkative  and  prefers 
a  certain  kind  of  rather  desultory,  "  small-talk  "  or  social 


88 

chat,  which  does  not  require  much  mental  endowment  or 
energy. 
A  well-defined  curve  of  the  first  stroke  of  capital  letters, 


154 


if  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  not  inharmonious,  generally  be- 
ginning well  under  the  letter  itself,  like  the  specimen  shown 
in  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  134,  indicates  oratorical  ability. 


135 

The  more  elegant  the  curve,  the  greater  the  eloquence.  A 
more  "witliin-itself"  curved  first  stroke,  like  Fig.  135,  is 
made  by  many  actors,  on  and  off  the  stage.  It  denotes  a 


J36 


89 

talent  for  imitating',  for  mimicry  and  acting.  If  this  initial 
line  consists  of  several  curves  or  circles  within  each  other, 
like  that  in  the  two  illustrations,  Fig.  136  and  Fig.  136-a, 


then  a  disposition  for  quarreling,  avarice  and  envy  is  indi- 
cated. 

Another  kind  of  initial  stroke  which  is  generally  seen 
combined  with  sinking  lines,  illustrated  in  Fig.  137,  is  the 


137 


so-called  "line-cut-through-life."  It  more  frequently  oc- 
curs in  capital  letters.  Persons  who  are  depressed  through 
misfortune  or  death  or  sorrow ;  whose  careers,  prospects  or 
hopes  have  been  blighted,  write  in  this  manner.  So  do 
many  others  of  both  sexes,  who  have  been  disappointed  in 
love  or  whose  " course  of  true  love"  has  not  "run  smooth." 
A  sharp  right-angled  heavy  hook,  similar  to  the  specimen 
Fig.  138,  means  a  dangerous  combination  of  envy,  jealousy 
and  brutality.  When  the  pen-stroke  of  the  letters  starts 


90 


HOW  TO  READ 


with  a  round  point  or  period,  as  illustrated  in  the  next 
specimen  Fig.  139,  you  may  be  sure  of  finding  in  the  writer 
the  ability  to  earn  and  to  keep  what  he  earns  and  to  remem- 


19* 

ber  and  use  what  he  learns.  He  is  generally  wise  and  care- 
ful, which  is  often  indicated  by  his  habitual  pose,  when 
writing,  of  pausing,  looking  downward  with  an  expression 


159 


of  deep  thought,  and  with  his  pen — still  in  hand — resting 
on  the  paper,  thus  picturing  deep  consideration  before 
action. 

Backward  turned  first  strokes,  like  Fig.  140,  are  gener- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  91 

ally  made  by  writers  who  'always  endeavor  to  conceal  their 
past  history — public  or  private.  They  try  to  have  someone 
else  "pull  their  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire."  Double-tongued 
and  double-faced  persons  use  this  stroke  very  often. 

First  strokes  of  letters,  especially  capital  letters,  curved 
once  within  themselves,  as  shown  in  Fig.  141  and  Fig.  142, 


142 

generally  indicate  a  love  of  family  and  home  life;  if  they 
are  well-rounded  they  are  evidence  of  amiability  and 
courtesy.  Combined  with  the  foregoing  round-point  pen- 
stroke,  they  indicate  flattery  and  the  sort  of  amiability 
which  looks  forward  to  a  reward  of  some  kind. 

Adaptability  to  circumstances  is  found  in  the  softly  made 
curves  of  the  first  stroke  as  shown  in  the  next  illustration, 
Fig.  143.  Writers  of  this  style  yield  very  quickly  to  opposi- 
tion and  are  easily  influenced  by  others. 

Business  ability  is  always  indicated  by  the  curved  hooks 


r 

(43 


92 


HOW  TO  READ 


of  the  first  letters,  somewhat  like  Figs.  143-a  and  144,  and 
many  successful  merchants  and  salesmen  will  be  found  to 
use  them. 

Secretiveness,  cunning  and  shrewdness  are  often  revealed 
by  a  small  dot,  or  circle,  or  letter  enclosed  within  a  capital 


K4 

letter  like  the  two  specimens  shown  here,  Fig.  145  and 
Fig.  145A.  Self-praise,  conceit,  and  egotism  are  also  indi- 
cated here. 


93 

Dreamers,  fantastic  persons  and  many  poets,  authors 
and  artists  use  a  very  long  and  curved  capital,  like  Fig. 
146;  such  writers  are  inclined  to  soar  into  the  upper  air; — 


146 


to  be  builders  of  air-castles.    See  the  two  specimens  shown 
here,  Fig.  147  and  Fig.  148. 


147 


THE  LAST  OR  END-STROKES  OF  LETTERS 

These  end-strokes  of  letters,  while  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  form  a  letter,  are  however,  of  great  importance  to 
graphologists  and  handwriting  experts.  Forgers  are  more 
quickly  discovered  by  the  end  or  last  strokes  of  a  letter 
or  word  than  by  the  first  or  starting  stroke  of  the  pen. 

Frequently  there  are  no  end-strokes  at  all,  like  Fig.  149 ; 
this  indicates  thrift,  saving  and  economy. 


If  the  last  strokes  are  very  heavy  and  clublike,  as  in  Fig. 
150  and  Fig.  150A,  great  lack  of  consideration  for  the 
feelings  of  others  is  indicated — a  nature  completely 
wrapped  up  in  self.  This  is  always  more  or  less  accom- 
panied by  violence  and  brutality.  Of  course,  in  analyzing, 
it  should  be  said  that  we  must  not  fail  to  consider  all 


CHAEACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


95 


characteristics  ;  we  must  not  jump  at  conclusions  based  upon 
merely  one  or  two  of  them.    See  also  Fig.  150-b. 


^VE^l«*v 


150b 


Endings  which  gently  curve  upwards  like  the  ones  shown 
in  the  next  illustration  Fig.  151,  symbolize  courtesy,  polite- 
ness and  an  amiable  nature.  On  the  other  hand,  if  such 


151 

rounded  endings  of  letters  and  words  curve  downward,  as 
illustrated  in  Fig.  152,  they  indicate  an  internal  unhappi- 
ness  and  discontent  which  the  writer  tries  to  conceal. 


96 


HOW  TO  READ 


Little  hooks  combined  with  a  small  curve  of  the  last 
stroke  of  a  letter,  as  shown  in  the  specimen  Fig.  153,  indi- 
cate always  more  or  less  egotism  and  also  a  love  of  flattery 
and  praise. 


far  M 


153 


Long,  straight  end-strokes  of  words,  as  in  Fig.  154,  com- 
bined with  writing  that  is,  in  general,  large,  indicate  liber- 
ality and  generosity,  provided  all  the  words  have  such  end- 
strokes,  and  the  whole  of  the  handwriting  is  broad  and 


154 

round,  careful  persons,  wiseacres  and  those  who  are  dis- 
trustful of  others,  generally  make  a  large  end-stroke  on  the 
last  word  of  each  line,  as  in  Fig.  155,  as  though  they  feared 


''55*156 


•u&^L 

i     I  T 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  97 

someone  might  write  additional  words  on  the  line  or  above 
their  signature.  To  prevent  this,  they  are  careful  to  fill  up 
all  available  space. 

When  all  word-endings  consist  of  short,  horizontal 
strokes  or  dashes,  as  shown  in  Fig.  156,  with  rather  pointed 
endings,  they  indicate  exclusiveness,  reserve  and  power  of 
resistance ;  combined  with  straight  regular  writing  and  even 
and  horizontal  lines,  as  in  Fig.  157,  these  short  horizontal 
dashes  will  indicate  a  love  of  fairness  and  justice;  and  if 


157 

they  are  heavy,  they  indicate  concentration  upon  one  idea  — 
single-mindedness. 

Whenever  the  last  stroke  of  a  word  looks  like  a  circle  or 
curve  turned  inward,  as  shown  in  this  illustration,  Fig.  158, 
it  indicates  that  the  writer  is  inclined  to  be  "a  regular  Tar- 


158 

tar"  and  tyrant  at  home  and  rather  vain  in  small  matters. 
Very  long  and  sharp  endings,  like  Fig.  159,  indicate  a 


159 


98  HOW  TO  READ 

critical  mind  and  an  inclination  toward  positive  expression. 
Whenever  such  long,  sharp  endings  rise  upward  but  end 
with  a  daggerlike  point,  as  illustrated  in  specimen  Fig.  160, 
then  we  may  add  quarrelsomeness  to  the  writer's  char- 
acteristics. 


Gsvv 


160 

All  gently  rising  end-strokes,  similar  to  Fig.  161,  indicate 
the  same  as  upward  slanting  lines,  namely,  activity,  enthu- 
siasm and  also  more  or  less  love  of  a  life  full  of  fun  and 
joy.  If  the  strokes  end  with  small  hooks,  we  have  in  addi- 


161 

tion,  perseverance,  considerable  "sticktoittiveness"  and 
contrariness.  When  heavy  clubs  are  added  to  the  end- 
stroke  or  rather,  when  the  ending  of  a  letter  runs  into  and 
finishes  with  a  heavy  club-like  end-stroke,  as  in  Fig.  1625 
we  find  energy,  with  brutality  and  violence.  If  these  club- 


162 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


99 


like  end-strokes  are  small,  as  shown  in  Fig.  163,  it  merely 
indicates  that  the  writer  has  little  or  no  consideration  for 
others  but  is  inclined  to  always  look  out  for  himself  ex- 
clusively. 


/- 


163 


A  weak-looking,  downward-curving  stroke,  something  like 
the  end-stroke  in  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  164,  seems  to 


164 


indicate  a  certain  sad,  depressed  feeling  in  the  writer,  if 
il  is  a  thin,  fine  stroke.  But  if,  however,  it  is  heavy  and 
strong,  as  in  Fig.  165,  it  may  be  safely  translated  thus:  "I 
am  very  busy  and  must  not  be  disturbed."  This  type  of 


165 


100 

man  is  very  persistent  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plans,  and 
combative  and  pugnacious  in  all  his  undertakings.  Gruff- 
ness  and  harshness  alike  to  friend  and  foe,  are  also  among 
his  characteristics.  Observe  closely  the  illustration  Fig. 
166,  one  ^f  Napoleon's  signatures. 


(66 


THE  UPPER  AND  LOWER  PARTS  OF  A  LETTER 

The  rule  which,  after  rigid  testing,  has  been  generally 
adopted  by  graphologists  is,  that  if  in  a  specimen  of  hand- 
writing the  upper  parts  of  the  small  letters  f,  p,  g,  y,  are 
longer  than  the  parts  of  such  letters  below  the  base  line,  as 


167 

in  Fig.  167,  this  indicates  in  a  general  way  that  the  writer 
possesses  more  psychic  and  spiritual  inclinations  and  more 
mental  ability  than  those  who  write  the  lower  parts  longer, 
as  shown  in  the  next  illustration  Fig.  168.  The  latter  are 
supposed  to  have  greater  inclination  for  practical  matters, 
for  athletics  and  bodily  exercise. 


102 


HOW  TO  READ 


Specimens  of  writing  in  which  both  upper  and  lower 
parts  of  those  letters  are  fairly  well  and  evenly  balanced 
and  developed,  as  in  Fig.  169,  indicate  a  well  rounded  char- 
acter, in  which  organizing  and  executive  ability  and  physi- 


169 

cal  activity  are  in  perfect  equilibrium  with  mental  energy 
and  achievement. 

When  upper  or  lower  parts  of  letters  do  not  stand  out 
clear,  but  mix  and  jumble  and  run  into  each  other  through- 
out a  page,  as  shown  in  the  specimen  Fig.  170,  it  is  evident 


-cr 


^t       ^M-C_ 


CHAKACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          103 

that  the  writer  is  unable  to  think  clearly  and  even  finds  it 
difficult  to  express  himself  clearly  or  correctly  and  cannot 
differentiate  or  decide  quickly. 

We  must,  of  course,  at  the  same  time  bear  in  mind  that 
this  characteristic  becomes  emphasized  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  in  the  mixed  and  jumbled  condition  mentioned. 

Those  who  carefully  write  down  each  word  separately 
and  whose  letters  do  not  slope  too  much  or  too  little,  like 
Fig.  171,  are  characterized  by  level-headedness  and  clear- 


171 


thinking,  with  ability  to  distinguish  and  differentiate,  and 
with  aptitude  for  business. 

Persons  who  are  very  dependent  upon  the  judgment  and 
advice  of  others;  who  have  little  or  no  initiative  or  exe- 
cutive ability,  and  who  hardly  ever  attain  positions  of  con- 
sequence, generally  write  a  school-copy-book  hand,  like  Fig. 
172.  Their  writing  may  look  pretty  and  correct  but  it 
shows  no  independence,  no  character. 


104 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


Wherever  the  lower  parts  of  the  letter  are  made  ex- 
tremely long,  something  like  the  next  illustration,  Fig,  173 
— we  have  an  infallible  indication  of  vanity  and  egotism 
combined  with  a  love  of  the  practical  and  a  liking  for  ath- 
letics and  other  sports.  Self-praise  and  desire  for  the 
praise  of  others  are  also  indicated. 


OM™ 


oJLs*J<s^+     <L~~4     l*w~fa 


173 


PUNCTUATION 

Wlien  we  find  periods  and  commas  frequently  omitted,  as 
in  Fig.  174,  we  may  deduce  forgetfulness,  lack  of  concen- 
trative  power  and  sometimes  carelessness.  Carefulness  in 


fc^_ 


o/  kt  fc^^^ 


174 

making  all  i  dots,  commas  and  periods  and  other  punctua- 
tion signs,  indicate  order,  system,  promptness  and  attention 
to  detail. 

Characteristics  can  also  be  deduced  from  exclamation 
points  and  question  marks.  A  thin  and  very  sloping  writ- 
ing, like  Fig.  175  and  Fig.  175A,  as  a  whole,  denotes  sensi- 


175 


105 


106         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


I75A 

tiveness,  which  is  pictured  in  bold  relief  by  leaning  and 
sloping  exclamation  points,  provided  they  are  thin  and  fine. 
Nearly  all  mediums,  clairvoyants,  psychics  and  occultists 
are  indicated  by  such  handwriting. 

Upright,  strong,  heavy  exclamation  points,  such  as  are 
shown  in  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  176,  connote  energy 
and  self-control. 


I 


176 


When  such  heavy  and  strongly  marked  exclamation 
points  are  made  sloping — similar  to  those  shown  next,  in 
Fig.  177 — they  add  to  the  writer's  characteristics,  anger, 
quick  temper  and  explosiveness  of  speech  under  excite- 
ment. 


177 


SIGNATURES 

Many  persons  add  to  their  signatures  every  time  they 
write  them,  unnecessary  and  superfluous  strokes.  These 
additions  are  sometimes  straight,  sometimes  curved,  as 
seen  in  the  signatures  Fig.  178  and  Fig.  179.  This  habit 


is  indulged  in  by  kings  and  emperors  and  exalted  per- 
sonages in  common  with  persons  of  humble  station,  such 
as  laborers,  and  even  by  thieves  and  murderers.  No  satis- 
factory explanation  has  yet  been  discovered;  nevertheless 
the  various  forms  of  these  strokes  can  be  safely  inter- 

107 


108  HOW  TO  READ 

preted.  On  the  one  hand  many  men  who  have  played  most 
prominent  roles  on  the  world's  stage  have  not  deigned  thus 
to  adorn  their  handwriting,  while  on  the  other  hand,  just 
as  many  equally  celebrated  contributors  to  the  historical 


Ift! 


record  of  achievement  have  unhesitatingly  and  liberally 
adopted  it.  Among  these  are  the  Emperor  Napoleon  1st, 
Fig.  180,  Munkacsky  the  painter,  Fig.  181,  and  President 
Woodrow  Wilson,  Fig.  182. 

Some  persons  use  one  style  of  signature  for  business  or 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


109 


official  letters  and  another  style  for  social  and  intimate 
letters.  It  is  therefore  better  to  make  character  readings 
from  the  latter. 

An  illegible  signature  like  Fig.  182A  stands  sponsor  for 
hypocrisy,  deceit  and  intrigue. 

A  plain  signature  without  underlining  or  other  pen- 
strokes,  and  even  without  a  dot  at  the  end,  shows  great 
independence  or  pride  in  natural  endowments  and  gift  of 
mind  and  body. 


185 


/S4 


A  small,  plain  signature  indicates  modesty,  and  simplicity 
of  speech  and  demeanor,  while  frequently  a  very  large  and 
heavy  signature  reflects  faithfully  pride  and  vanity. 


185 


110 


HOW  TO  READ 


^3i 


«y 


oo. 


186 


IS7 


A  peiiod  and  dash  placed  behind  the  signature  indicates 
that  the  writer  is  fairly  freighted  with  precaution  and  care- 
fulness, creating  the  impression  of  fear  that  someone  may 


188 


189 


190 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          111 

add  to  Ms  signature.    Periods  made  after  the  date  of  a  letter 
also  indicate  precaution. 


191 


Sometimes  we  find  a  period  in  front  of  a  signature.    This 


»92 


indicates  still  greater  caution.  Such  writers,  as  well  as 
those  who  make  two  or  more  periods  behind  their  signature 
are  always  suspicious  of  others  and  often  so  much  so  that 
they  easily  slide  into  the  practice  of  self-protection  against 


193 


fraud  by  priority  of  use.    They  thus  become  unscrupulous 
and  dishonest. 


112 


195 


196 


A  straight  line  underneath  the  signature  indicates  family 
pride,  also  egotism  and  a  fondness  for  domineering. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         113 


197 


The  same  characteristic,  only  more  developed,  is  indi- 
cated by  a  straight  line  above  the  signature. 
This  may  indicate  diplomacy  also. 


199 


200 


HOW  TO  BEAD 

A  sharp,  downward-ending  stroke  to  the  signature  indi- 
cates combativeness,  courage,  aggressiveness,  especially  if 
the  lines  have  a  decidedly  upward  tendency. 


201 


Yours 


20* 


If  the  lines  run  downward,  however,  and  especially  if  the 
last  stroke  tends  downward,  we  find  depression  and  dis- 
couragement, creating  the  feeling  that  the  w  riter  fears  that 
he  and  his  work  are  not  sufficiently  appreciated. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


115 


A  wavy  and  curved  signature  indicates  adaptability,  also 
much  doubt  of  one's  ability  to  succeed. 


203 


204 


Circular  or  coil-like  loops  are  frequently  attached  to  their 
signatures  by  men  and  women  who  are  conscious  of  their 
charms.  These  loops  also  indicate,  shrewdness,  cunning, 
secretiveness  and  coquetry. 


205 


206 


116 


HOW  TO  BEAD 


A  signature  with  a  strong  upward  slope  proclaims  ambi- 
tion, aggressiveness  and  push. 


Z07 


A  curve  around  a  signature,  similar  to  the  next  illustra- 
tion, indicates  a  strong  sense  of  family  life,  also  family 


209 


pride  and  family  egotism  and  fondness  for  protectiveness. 


itj 


210 


A  wavy  line  underneath  the  signature  indicates  adapta- 
bility, also  shrewdness  and  humor. 


213 


118  HOW  TO  READ 

Several  wavy  curves  show  greater  humor  and  jollity. 


216 


A  signature  with  a  double  line  which  returns  with  a  sharp 
point  is  used  by  many  careful  but  also  quick-acting,  and 
aggressive  persons.  They  always  "  carry  a  chip  on  their 
shoulders." 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


Zigzag  lines  underneath  signatures  indicate  violent  and 
combative  characters. 

When  analyzing  a  writer's  character,  it  is  of  course 
understood  that  an  opinion  should  not  be  formed  from  the 
signature  alone,  but  from  the  whole  writing,  detecting  and 
interpreting  each  and  every  mark  and  characteristic  by 
itself;  after  doing  which,  to  combine  and  interpret  the 
specimen  as  a  whole. 

The  following  are  reproductions  of  fifty  signatures  of 
historical  and  literary  characters,  a  study  of  which  will  be 
very  interesting  to  the  layman,  and  others,  as  well  as  to 
graphological  students.  These  specimens  faithfully  reveal 
the  characters  which  correspond  to  the  several  graphologi- 
cal indications  and  which  have  been  confirmed  and  verified 
by  history. 


SOME  INTERESTING  SIGNATURES  OF  WELL- 
KNOWN  HISTORICAL  CHARACTERS 


219 

PRINCE  BISMARCK 
Germany's  Iron  Chancellor,  the  man  who  ruled  his  King 


EMPEROR  WILHELM  I  OF  GERMANY 
The  King  who  was  ruled  by  his  Chancellor. 


121 

DR.  KARL  PETERS,  THE  AFRICAN  EXPLORER 

130 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          121 


222 


MAJOR  HERMANN  VON  WISSMANN 

Both  African  explorers  and  travelers  but  unsuccessful  in 
managing  natives.  Why?  Look  at  the  rawhide,  whip-like 
dashes  over  their  signatures. 


223 


POPE  LEO  XIII 

Who  could  fathom  the  reserve  and  intrigue  of  the  lines 
under  his  signature? 


/•/ 


POPE  ALEXANDER  VI 

Of  all  the  other  rulers  of  his  age  he  is  considered  by  his- 
torians as  the  most  brutal  and  sensuous.  Observe  his  heavy, 
thick  writing. 


122 


HOW  TO  READ 


EMILE  ZOLA 
The  noted  French  novelist. 


226 

CHOPIN 
The  celebrated  Polish  composer. 


227 

JOSEPH  JOACHIM 

The  celebrated  violinist  and  composer,  with  a  violin  bow 
under  his  signature. 


228 


QUEEN  VICTORIA 

With  the  long  stroke  of  the  first  letter,  as  if  she  wishes  to 
take  the  whole  world  under  her  protection. 


123 


ALEX  ANDRE  DUMAS  (PERE) 

The  noted  French   dramatic  author   and  novelist — ro- 
mantic and  critical. 


230 

FIELD  MARSHAL  COUNT  VON  MOLTKE 
Quiet,  unassuming — whose  strategy  won  the  War  of  1870. 


231 

RICHARD  WAGNER 
The  celebrated  operatic  composer. 


124 


HOW  TO  READ 


232 


FELIX  MENDELSSOHN  BAKTHOLDY 

The  distinguished  composer  and  musician  whose  signa- 
ture looks,  or  rather  sounds,  like  one  of  his  symphonies. 


233 


MUEAT 

One  of  the  leaders  of  the  French  revolution,  whose  bru- 
tality and  cruelty  are  plainly  expressed. 


23+ 


ROBESPIERRE 

The    celebrated    French    Revolutionist,    whose    cruelty 
stands  out  in  his  long  sharp  dash. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


125 


235 


WM.  McKiNLEY,  PRESIDENT  U.  S.  A. 
Wide-open  letters  show  the  nobility  and  frankness  of  his 
character. 


.236 


WM.  R.  SHAFTER,  MAJOR  GENERAL  U.  S.  A.  DURING 
SPANISH- AMERICAN  WAR 

Indecision  and  lack  of  energy  well  indicated  here. 


237 


NELSON  A.  MILES,  GENERAL  U.  S.  A. 
A  remarkable  signature  of  the  old  Indian  fighter  who  won 
his  way  up  from  a  private  in  the  ranks. 


126 


HOW  TO  READ 


238 


CAPT.  RICHMOND  P.  HOBSON 

The  U.  S.  Naval  Officer  who  blew  up  the  U.  S.  Collier 
Merrimac  in  an  attempt  to  block  Santiago  Harbor. 


Y  •  , 

I  0-\  V»~XA 


239 


ROBERT  Louis  STEVENSON 

Observe  the  small  hand  of  the  author  of  "  Treasure 
Island." 


240 


JOSE  M.  HERNANDEZ 

The  Venezuelan  revolutionist  who  lost  his  right  arm  in 
ousting  President  Cipriano  Castro. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


127 


241 

LEO  TOLSTOY 

The  famous  Russian  novelist  and  social  reformer,  and 
religious  mystic. 


EMPRESS  EUGENIE 

The  beautiful  Empress  of  France  whose  ambition  made 
her  an  Empress  and  unmade  her. 


243 

CAPTAIN  VON  PAPEN 

The  German  military  attache  in  Washington,  who  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  United  States.  Observe  his  tapering  signa- 
ture. » 


128 


HOW  TO  READ 


244 

GENERAL  VON  KLUCK  OF  GERMANY 

Who  almost  reached  Paris.     Scan  well  the  hook  at  the 
beginning  and  end  of  his  signature. 


245 


MARSHAL  FOCH  OF  FRANCE 

The  strategical  fighter  who  directed  and  won  the  battles 
for  victory. 


Very  truly  yonre 


246 


MAJOR  GENERAL  JOHN  J.  PERSHING,  U.  S.  A. 

Our  American  "Black  Jack"  Pershing  who  cooperated 
with  Marshal  Foch. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


129 


247 


EMPEROR  NAPOLEON  I 

A  signature  of  Napoleon  after  the  Battle  of  Waterloo 
showing  much  discouragement. 


EDITH  CAVELL,  THE  BRITISH  NURSE  EXECUTED  AS  A  SPY 
Written  the  day  before  her  execution,  the  signature  shows 
remarkable  composure. 


240 


CARDINAL  GIBBONS,  OF  BALTIMORE 
Shows  the  energy  of  this  Roman  Catholic  prelate. 


130 


HOW  TO  READ 


250 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

The  martyr  President— simple,  strong,  sincere  and  ener- 
getic. 


J.  WILKES  BOOTH 
The  signature  of  the  man  who  shot  Lincoln. 


2.5Z 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
The  signature  of  the  first  President  of  the  U.  S.  A. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


131 


253 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

The  signature  of  the  American  diplomat  and  inventor- 
witty  and  energetic. 


254 


W.  M.  THACKERAY 
An  unusual  signature  of  the  celebrated  English  author. 


z&s 


SAMUEL  GOMPERS 

The  signature  of  this  leader  of  the  American  workingmen 
shows  energy  and  persistency  in  the  sharp  strokes. 


132 


HOW  TO  READ 


Major  General  Commandant* 

256 

MAJOR  GENERAL  GEORGE  BARTLETT 
The  fighting  commander  of  the  U.  S.  Marines. 


257 


POPE  Pius  X 

A  remarkable  signature  of  the  Pope  in  which  he  uses  his 
given  name  in  a  confidential  letter  to  a  friend. 


25ft 

E.  VENIZELOS 

The   Greek   Statesman   and  revolutionary   leader,   now 
President  of  Greece. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          133 


259 


JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 

Signature  of  the  organizer  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company, 
one  of  the  greatest  business  systems  in  the  world. 


JOHN  D.  ARCHBOLD 

Mr.  Rockefeller's  associate  and  late  president  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company. 


261 


W.  LLOYD  GEORGE 

The   signature  of  the  British  Premier — a  fighter  and 
organizer. 


134         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


262 


QUEEN  ALEXANDRIA 
Great  Britain's  "queen  mother" — a  rather  artistic  hand 


showing  love  for  music  and  art. 


262 


U.  S.  GRANT 

General  of  the  Federal  forces  at  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War. 


264 


BUFFALO  BILL 

The  signature  of  Col.  W.  Cody,  known  throughout  the 
world  by  the  name  of  Buffalo  Bill.  Generous  to  a  fault, 
loyal  to  his  friends  and  always  courageous  and  without 
fear. 


UNUSUAL  WEITEKS 


Fig.  266  is  a  specimen  of  the  handwriting  of  Lord  Nel- 
son, Great  Britain's  naval  hero,  written  with  his  right  hand, 
and  the  next  illustration,  Fig.  267,  shows  a  specimen  of  his 
handwriting  after  he  had  lost  his  right  arm. 


267 

The  next  specimen  was  written  with  the  mouth  by  a  man 
who  was  born  without  arms  and  legs. 

135 


136 


HOW  TO  READ 


£68 


Handwriting  of  a  bank  director  who  writes  equally  well 
with  either  hand  and  who  wrote  the  next  two  specimens 
for  me. 


269 


270 


The  portrait  painter  Aimee  Rapin,  born  without  arms, 
wrote  Fig.  271  with  her  foot,  with  which  she  also  paints  her 
world-famous  portraits. 


271 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          137 

The  next  signature  was  written  for  me  by  a  very  pleasant 
lady  who  used  either  hand  equally  well  but  who  wrote 
habitually  with  her  left  hand. 


777 


^ 


Q 


272 


What  can  be  done  by  unfortunate  cripples  is  shown  in 
the  two  following  specimens  of  a  French  soldier  who  gave 


Z/ 


,  t.,*C>    G 


cu. 

//>»  Or  •  AoJ  (**    ott^/    - 
<y^'   ' 

^    l&a&mv 

V 
'' 


3*  <*~ 
<AA4#T*£c* 


» 

• 


£73 


both  arms  to  his  country  in  the  World  War.    Fig.  273  was 
written  by  him  before  he  entered  his  country's  service. 


138 


HOW  TO  BEAD 


Fig.  274  was  written  with  his  new  artificial  hand  and  seems 
to  be  clearer  writing  than  his  former  penmanship. 


27* 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          139 

Another  unusual  and  very  interesting  handwriting  is  the 
following  by  a  prominent   railroad  director  who   writes 


X 

• 

e 

I 


275 


equally  well  and  habitually  with  both  hands,  whichever  is 
more  convenient  for  him  at  the  time. 


275  a  / 


A  comparison  of  the  following  specimens  of  handwriting 
afford  an  interesting  object-lesson  to  illustrate  the  accu- 


27* 


/     ^ 


277 

140 


141 

racy  with  which  resemblances  of  character  between  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family — English  in  this  case — can  be 
detected  from  an  analysis  of  corresponding  resemblances 
in  their  handwriting. 


4ATTM-- /-«*X 


278 


Fig.  276  is  the  handwriting  of  the  grandmother  at  the  age 
of  87,  and  Fig.  277  that  of  the  grandfather — since  deceased 
—written  at  the  age  of  46.  Fig.  278  is  their  son's  writing, 
at  the  age  of  64.  It  is  very  similar  to  that  of  his  father. 
He — the  son — married  the  lady  who  wrote  Fig.  279.  Their 
oldest  son,  now  a  Major  in  the  British  Army,  when  30  years 


142 


HOW  TO  READ 


old,  wrote  Fig.  280,  and  their  youngest  son,  12  years  old, 
wrote  Fig.  281. 


(LiLtfCUM  *K></L 
0     Q 


280 


til 


The  other  children  of  Fig.  276  and  Fig  277  are  two  sons, 
and  two  daughters,  whose  handwritings  are  here  shown. 
The  sons'  handwritings  are  Fig.  282,  at  27  years  of  age,  and 
Fig.  283  at  51  years  of  age. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          143 


263 


/ 


264 


285 


286 


144 

The  daughters'  handwritings  are  Fig.  284,  written  at  62 
years  of  age,  she  being  a  spinster,  and  Fig.  285,  a  specimen 
of  the  other  daughter  at  the  age  of  48  years,  who  married 
Fig.  286,  age  53  years,  whose  son  wrote  Fig.  287. 


x-^* 


t/3 

267 

Clearness,  love  of  order,  logic,  sincerity  and  optimism, 
are  shown  in  all  these  specimens,  which  also  reveal  culture, 
courtesy  and  refinement  of  characters,  all  corresponding  ex- 
actly with  the  physical  peculiarities  of  their  handwriting. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  THE  ALPHABET 

No  two  persons  write  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  alike, 
even  should  their  copy-book,  school  and  teacher  have  been 
identical. 

As  children  grow  older  and  begin  to  think  independently, 
conceiving  their  own  ideas,  in  school  and  at  home,  and  as 
they  commence  to  write  letters  without  closely  following  the 
black-board  or  writing-book,  they  begin  limited  variations 
of  their  own  which  is  the  introduction  leading  to  that  asser- 
tion of  personality  as  it  were,  which  gradually  becomes 
fixed  and  permanent  and  develops  an  inter-relation  of  heart 
and  hand  which  the  author  has  elaborated  and  systematized 
into  the  science  of  graphology. 

It  is  decidedly  interesting  to  watch  the  development  of  a 
boy's  handwriting,  and  to  be  able  to  classify  and  distinguish 
those  characteristics  which  are  merely  transient  indications 
of  an  embryonic  formation  of  character,  from  others  that 
are  fundamental  and  destined  to  become  essential  consti- 
tuents of  the  warp  and  woof  of  his  real  and  permanent  self, 
until  having  fully  played  his  part,  he  makes  his  final  bow 
and  retires  from  the  stage  of  life. 

From  childhood  to  middle  age  man  gradually  becomes  a 
definite  and  ultimate  unit  by  the  winnowing  of  the  fleeting 
from  the  fixed,  and  it  is  therefore  logically  unsound  to  make 
a  definite  and  final  estimate  of  his  character  from  partial 
indications  derived  from  an  isolated  specimen  of  his  hand- 
writing. Furthermore,  a  graphologist  must  always  weigh 

145 


146         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

the  majority  of  the  indications  found  in  an  entire  specimen 
of  handwriting  as  a  unit  and  not  allow  the  suggestions  of 
single  letters  to  influence  or  prejudice  him  because  they  are, 
perhaps,  as  it  were,  obvious  and  insistent. 

Following  are  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  large  and  small, 
in  many-sided  variations,  with  indications  as  to  the  writ- 
er's characteristics. 


THE  ALPHABET  AND  ITS  GRAPHOLOGICAL  SIGNS 


3 

288 


1.  Closed — secretiveness,  economy. 

2.  Open — frankness,  loquaciousness. 

3.  Inside  loop  open  at  top — loquaciousness,  and  at  the 

same  time  secretiveness. 

4.  Inside    loop    and    closed    at    top — shrewdness    and 

cunning. 

5.  Second  stroke  pressed  together — exclusiveness. 

6.  Open  at  bottom — hypocrisy,  deceitfulness,  dishonesty. 


147 


148  HOW  TO  READ 


T/~ 


8  9  9 

I  ' 

289 

7.  Second  loop  forming  loop— exaggeration,  and  if  fre- 

quent, and  connected  with  other  letters,  prevari- 
cation. 

8.  Long  strokes  and  open — imagination,  activity. 

9.  Small  with  cross  stroke — originality. 

10.    Connected  with   next   letter— activity    with    energy 
and  logic. 

a 
01,         Us       GL^        &s        £/ 

,  z  3  4  5  6  7  « 

£90 

1.  Closed — secretiveness,  economy. 

2.  Open — frankness,  loquaciousness. 

3.  Inside  loop  and  open  at  top — loquaciousness,  and  at 

the  same  time  secretiveness. 

4.  Inside    loop    and    closed    at    top — shrewdness    and 

cunning. 

5.  Second  stroke  pressed  together — exclusiveness. 

6.  Open  at  bottom — hypocrisy,  deceitfulness,  dishonesty. 

7.  Second  stroke  forming  loop — exaggeration,   and  if 

frequent  and  connected  with  other  letters,  prevari- 
cation. 

8.  Greek  letter — culture,  education,  professional  life. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          149 


B 


291 

1.  Upper  part  bent  though  fully  formed  —  deep  inward 

sorrow,  suffering. 

2.  Upper  loop  closed  —  ability  to  keep  secrets. 

3.  Upper  loop  open  —  talkativeness,  conversationalism. 

4.  Typographical  —  literary    inclinations,     order,    good 

taste,  influence. 


5T  6  7  8  9 

292 

5.  Narrow  capital  —  economy,  meanness. 

6.  Wide  and  broad  —  generous,  a  gastronome,  an  epicure. 

7.  Broad  with  bottom  open  —  artistic  form,  good  taste, 

originality,  pleasantness,  elegance. 

8.  First  stroke  very  high  —  ambition,  inclination  to  over- 

self-confidence. 

9.  Loop  to  left  —  good  memory,  faithfulness  in  keeping 

promises. 


150  HOW  TO  READ 


r    ^  £    /    -<r  . 


293 

1.  Knot   or  bow  closed  —  "close-fisted,"  perseverance, 

secretiveness. 

2.  Lower  loop  open  —  frankness,  generosity. 

3.  Upper  part  bent,  though  formed  —  deep  inward  sor- 

row, suffering. 

4.  Upper  loop  closed  —  ability  to  keep  secrets. 

5.  Upper  loop  open  —  talkativeness,  conversationalism. 

6.  With  loop  at  end  —  reserve,  egotism. 

C 


I  i  J  4 

a  94 

1.  Wide  —  strong,  self-confident. 

2.  With  long  under-stroke  —  self  -flattery,  self-praise. 

3.  High  and  narrow  —  bashfulness,  modesty,  seclusive. 

4.  Sharp  with  angles  —  economy,  perseverance. 

5.  High  and  bending  over  —  nervousness,   approaching 

illness,  self-consciousness. 
c 

•c-  c-  ^    t 

i  la,  1  3 

295 

1.  Wide  —  strong,  self-contident. 

2.  With  long  under  stroke  —  self-flattery  and  self-praise. 

3.  Sharp  with  angles  —  persevering. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          151 
D 


i  i  3  4 

296 

1.  End  loop  curved  upward — weakness  in  yielding  to 

others,  leaning  upon  others,  dependence. 

2.  Long  loop  upward — fantastic  ideas,  narrowness. 

3.  Very  large — fantasy,  wild  imagination;  ought  to  be 

under  physician's  care.     Garrulous. 

4.  Little  hook  at  top — criticism,  contrariness. 

5.  Lower  loop  above  line — coquetry,  vanity,  gaudiness. 

6.  Closed  at  top  and  narrow — carefulness,  economy. 


7.  Open  at  top — liberality,  frankness. 

8.  Wide  open — great  generosity. 

9.  Open  and  large  loop — Gastronome,  epicure,  gourmet. 

10.  Several  loops  and  circles  in  upper  stroke — obtrusive, 

opiniated,  "Sir  Oracle." 

11.  Lasso  at  top — monomaniac. 

12.  With  turned  down  upper  stroke  of  loop — egotism, 

selfishness. 


152  HOW  TO  READ 


298 


13.  With  large  backward  loop— imperious. 

14.  Sharp  under-stroke — self-conceited,  culture. 

15.  Weak,  small  upper  loop,  especially  in  unsteady  writ- 

ing— sickness,  sorrow. 

16.  Connection  with  next  letter — strong  deduction,  logic. 

17.  First  loop  above  line — strong  self-consciousness,  af- 

fectation (if  very  marked,  first  sign  of  impending 
paranoia). 


Z99 


1.  Loop  open — frankness,  liberality. 

2.  Closed  at  top — economy,  secretiveness. 

3.  Very    narrow    closed    loop — meanness,     stinginess, 

avarice. 

4.  Under  loop  open — conversationalism,  talkativeness. 

5.  Plain  up-stroke  instead  of  loop — individuality. 

6.  Loop  at  top  of  stroke  sharply  upwards — aggressive- 

ness, arrogance,  obstreperousness. 

7.  Spread  out  and  backward— "  windy, "  self -flattering. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          153 


J 
d 


300 


8.  Sharp  vertical  ending  —  p.ositiveness,   averseness   to 

strangers. 

9.  End  loop  curved  upward  —  weakness  in  yielding  to 

others,  leaning  upon  friends,  dependence. 

10.  Long  loop  upward  —  fantastic  ideas,  narrowness. 

11.  Very   large    loop  —  bordering   on   wild    imagination, 

ought  to  be  under  physician's  care;  garrulous. 

12.  Loop  connected  with  next  letter  —  logic. 

13.  Loop  formed  on  backward  stroke  —  despotism,  unre- 

strained intolerance  of  environment. 


E 


301 

1.  Wide  open — conversationalism,  loquaciousness. 

2.  Closed  and  sharp — reserve,  exclusiveness,  resistance, 

coldness. 

3.  Long  end-stroke — self-admiration,  self-flattery. 

4.  Well-formed — artistic  ability,  symmetry,  good  taste. 

5.  Greek     letter     form — education,     culture,     literary 

ability. 

6.  Hooks  and  loops  on  upper  loop — pretentiousness. 


154  HOW  TO  READ 


t  €  /  t- 

,  2            3           4            4*               5 

30E 

1.  Closed — ability  to  keep  secrets,  reserve. 

2.  Wide  open — conversationalism,  loquaciousness. 

3.  Closed  and  sharp — reserve,  exclusiveness,  resistance. 

4.  Heavy  end  stroke — passionate  nature. 

5.  Long  end-stroke — self-admiration,  self-flattery. 

6.  Well  formed — artistic  ability,  symmetry,  good  taste. 

7.  Smaller  than  other  letters — suspicious  nature. 

8.  Greek  letter  form — education,  culture,  literary  taste. 

9.  Hooks  and  loops  on  upper  loop — pretension. 


F 


303 


1.  Middle  stroke  crosses  back  —  resistance,  perseverance. 

2.  Middle  stroke  ending  club-like  —  stubbornness,  oppo- 

sition. 

3.  With  well   curved   harmonious    end-loop—  harmony, 

artistic  ability,  love  of  art. 

4.  Wavy  under-stroke  —  morality,  diplomacy,  tact. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         155 


5.  Under-stroke  wavy,  upwards — humor,  shrewdness. 

6.  Well  formed  and  harmonious — love  of  art,  good  judge 

of  color  and  harmony  in  painting  and  music. 

7.  Long  top-stroke — protectiveness. 

8.  Wide  open — independence,  self-confidence. 

9.  Typographical — culture,  simplicity,  order. 


1.  Middle  stroke  crosses  back — resistance,  perseverance. 

2.  Middle  stroke  ending  club-like — stubbornness,  oppo- 

sition. 

3.  Both  loops  closed — reserve,  coldness,  secretiveness. 

4.  Both  loops  open — conversational  powers. 

5.  With  large  middle  loops — proud  achievement.     Self- 

made. 

6.  With   well    curved   harmonious    end-loop — harmony 

and  artistic  ability,  love  of  art. 

7.  Wavy  understroke — morality,  diplomacy,  tact. 


156  HOW  TO  READ 


8.  Under-stroke  wavy  upwards — humor,  shrewdness. 

9.  With  sharp  curved  under-loop — self-willed,  ceremoni- 

ousness,  particularly  about  dress. 

10.     Well  formed  and  harmonious — love  of  art,  good  judge 
of  color,  and  harmony  in  painting  and  music. 


G 


307 

1.  Closed  at  top — secretiveness,  economy. 

2.  Lower  stroke  single — concentrative  power ;  precision, 

order. 

3.  With  large  under  loop — sybarite. 

4.  Closed  under-loop — taciturnity. 

5.  Lower  loop  bent  and  here  and  there  with  pressure- 

illness,  bodily  and  mental  weakness. 

6.  With  lower  loop  ending  horizontal — domestic  tyranny 

and  domineering. 

7.  Inner  additional  curve  in  upper  loop  of  capital — 

strong  sense  of  domestic  life. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          157 


8.  Well  rounded  top-loop — amiability  and  domestic  life. 

9.  Well  rounded  top-loop  beginning  with  period — self- 

seeking  courtesy  and  amiability,  hypocrisy,  flat- 
tery, coquetry. 

10.  Curved  beginning  of  loop — mercantile  ability,  busi- 

ness ideas. 

11.  Sharp  first  stroke  with  loops — combination  of  mer- 

cantile sense  with  shrewdness,  critical  mind  and 
love  of  family. 

12.  Well  formed  letter — love  of  harmony,  color  and  en- 

vironment. 

13.  With  small  turned  down  loops — small  vanity  and 

pride. 

14.  Large  lower  loop — sybaritic,  epicurean. 


309 

15.  Broken  or  short  under-strokes — athletic  heart. 

16.  Upper  loop  open — frankness,  conversationalism 

17.  Wavy  strokes — adaptability,  lack  of  power  of  re- 

sistance. 


158  HOW  TO  READ 

18.  Closed  and  narrow — economy,  meanness. 

19.  Wide  capital  with  stroke  in  middle — impudence,  arro- 

gance, self-consciousness. 

20.  Plain — good  common  sense,  plainness. 

21.  Fancy  loops — gaudiness,  petty  vanity. 


1.  Open  at  top — frankness,  openness,  generosity. 

2.  Closed  at  top — secretiveness,  economy. 

3.  Upper  loop  open  at  bottom — hypocrisy,  dishonesty. 

4.  Lower  stroke  single — concentrative  power,  precision, 

order. 

5.  With  large  under-loop — sybaritic,  epicurean,  luxuri- 

ousness,  gastronome. 

6.  Under-loop  very  long — imagination. 

7.  Closed  under-loop — taciturnity. 

8.  Lower  loop   open — frankness,  versatility,  conversa- 

tionalism. 

9.  Lower  loop  long  with  heavy  but  uneven  pressure — • 

sensuality,  morbid  passion. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


159 


10.  Lower  loop  bent  here  and  there  with  pressure — ill- 

ness, bodily  and  mental. 

11.  Lower  loop  ending  horizontally — domestic  tyranny 

and  domineering. 

12.  Fancy  sharp  loop — vanity,  pride,  self-consciousness, 

self-centered,  and  self-pride. 

13.  Broken  lines — signs  of  heart  failure. 

14.  Broken   lines    with    very   long   under-loop — athletic 

heart. 

15.  Broken  line  now  and  then — palpitation  of  heart,  ill- 

ness ;  if  frequent — heart  disease. 

16.  Closed  and  narrow — economy,  meanness. 

17.  Very  sharp — very  cold  and  harsh  nature. 

18.  Plain — good  common  sense,  plainness. 

H 


1.  With  curved  first  stroke  and  dot — earning  capacity. 

2.  First  stroke  above  line — arrogance,  insolence,  self- 

consciousness. 

3.  Middle  stroke  connected  with  next  word — deduction 

and  logic. 


160  HOW  TO  READ 

4.  Middle  stroke  like  knot — power  of  resistance,  per- 

severance and  positiveness. 

5.  Middle  stroke  like  loop — pride  of  family  and  achieve- 

ment. 

6.  Strokes  close  together — shyness,  simplicity. 

7.  Long  downward  end-stroke — will-power,  energy. 


1.  With  curved  first  stroke  and  dot — earning  capacity. 

2.  First  stroke  above  line — arrogance,  insolence,  self- 

consciousness. 

3.  Consisting    of    two    strokes — intuition,    eccentricity, 

physical  weakness. 


1.  Turned  back  first  stroke — circumspect,   precaution, 

provident,  to  cover  one's  retreat — the  use  of  others 
as  a  "cat's  paw." 

2.  Fancy   and   complicated   loops — vanity,    affectation. 

3.  Turned  back  first  stroke  into  sharp  loop — disappoint- 

ment, depression,  unfortunate  in  love  affairs. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          161 

4.  Crossed  first  stroke — more  or  less  selfish. 

5.  Typographical — education,  culture. 

6.  Sharp  corners — severity. 


»2.34  56789 

3IS 

1.  Dot  left  out — carelessness,  forgetfulness. 

2.  Dot  exact  over  letter — order,  exactness,  precision, 

promptness. 

3.  Dot  before  letter — carefulness,  caution,  forethought 

4.  Dot  after  letter — great  enthusiasm,  idealism. 

5.  Dot  rather  high — enterprise,  enthusiasm,  ambition. 

6.  Dot  dash-like — energy,  activity,  versatility,  extrava- 

gance, liveliness. 

7.  Dot  upward  curved — openness,  frankness,  generosity. 

8.  Dot  downward — when  combined  with  sign  for  hypoc- 

risy, dishonesty,  deceitf ulness  and  prevarication. 

9.  Sharp  and  dot-like — meanness,  stinginess. 


v*     I*     'C'     ^     -ts       *£/ 

IO  (t  ti  13  14-  15  16 


10.  Round   and   dot   high — liberality,    good    fellowship, 

amiability. 

11.  Blot-like  dash — passionate  and  sexual  nature. 


162  HOW  TO  READ 

12.  Dot  very  heavy  and  low — materialism,  passion,  sensu- 

ousness. 

13.  Dot  club-like  and  heavy — positiveness,   energy  and 

courage. 

14.  Dot  sharp  dash — criticism,  shrewdness. 

15.  Dot  sharp  and  behind  letter — active,  critical,  deduc- 

tive. 

16.  Dot  connected  with  next  letter — prudence,  concentra- 

tion of  thought  and  adaptation  of  ideas  to  talent. 

K 


1.  Plain  typographical — self-control,  plainness,  order. 

2.  Plain,  but  with  hooks — stubborn  and  persistent  com- 

bined with  amiability. 

3.  With  many  bows  and  made  in  one  penstroke — cun- 

ning, shrewdness,  sharp  dealing. 

4.  Connected  with  previous  letter — splendid,  concentra- 

tion, a  combination  of  ideas  and  plans. 


z 
313 


1.  Plain  typographical — self-control,  plainness,  order. 

2.  Plain,    but    with    hooks — stubborn    and    persistent, 

though  amiable. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          163 


1.  First   loop    above   line—  coquetry,    vanity,    self-con- 

sciousness. 

2.  Wavy  main  stroke  —  affectation,  snobbishness,  false 
pride. 

3.  Long  sharp  last  stroke  —  harshness,  reserve,  coldness. 

4.  Long  sharp  first  stroke  —  critical  mind,  sarcasm. 

5.  Plain   and  simple  letter  —  quiet   sober  nature,  little 

idealism. 

6.  Large  and  with  loops  —  loud,  boasting  nature,  fantastic 

ideas. 


7.  Turned  in  upper  loop  —  cunning,  shrewdness,   com- 

bined with  love  of  domestic  life. 

8.  Loops  closed  —  reserve,   secretiveness. 

9.  Loops  open  —  conversationalism,  frankness. 

10.     Sharp   strokes  —  concentration,   perseverance,   exclu- 
siveness. 


164  HOW  TO  READ 


1.  Wavy  main  stroke — affectation,  snobbishness,  false 

pride. 

2.  Long  sharp  last  stroke — harshness,  reserve,  coldness. 

3.  Long  sharp  first  stroke — critical  mind,  sarcasm. 

4.  Loops  closed — reserve,  secretiveness. 

5.  Loops  open — conversationalism,  frankness. 

6.  Sharp    strokes — concentration,    perseverance,   exclu- 

siveness. 

7.  No  end-stroke — perseverance,  quick  decision. 


M 


1.  First    stroke    high  —  leadership,    pride,    aristocratic, 

family-pride,  self-consciousness,  independence,  in- 
clination to  despise  others. 

2.  Second  stroke  higher  than  first  —  modesty,  subordi- 
nation, subserviency. 

3.  First  and  second  strokes  of  even  height  —  contented- 

ness,  evenness. 


165 

4.  Even  strokes  but  with  look  at  beginning — hypocrisy, 

deceitfulness. 

5.  Second  stroke  higher  than  first  and  third  strokes — 

arrogance,  false  pride. 

6.  Separate    strokes — activity,   liveliness,    imagination, 

eccentricity. 


323 

7.  Last  stroke  very  heavy — energy,  strength. 

8.  First  stroke  starts  with  period — love  of  possession, 

ambition  and  acquisitiveness. 

9.  Long,  small  step-like  stroke — bashfulness,  combined 

with  pride  and  sensitiveness. 

10.  Wavy  lines  of  strokes — artistic  taste,  amiability,  en- 

thusiasm. 

11.  Long  ending  loop  underneath — love  of  domestic  life. 

12.  Bounded  below  and  open  like  letter  uu" — great  ami- 

ability, friendliness,  generosity. 


m  w  97? 

13  *  ( 


'6  ,7  I8 

32* 

13.    Down    strokes    looped  —  friendliness,    talkativeness, 
makes  friends  easily. 


166  HOW  TO  READ 

14.  Short  first  cross-stroke — dry  humor,  slow  wit,  com- 

bined with  selfishness. 

15.  Wide,  broad  and  round — jollity,  sybaritic,  epicurean, 

frankness. 

16.  Narrow  and  sharp — perseverance,  energy,  closeness. 

17.  Closed  and  roof-like  at  top — great  reserve,  difficulty 

in  making  friends,  stubbornness. 

18.  Very  round  at  top — hypocrisy,  deceit. 


m 


3 

315 


1.  Second  stroke  higher  than  first — modesty,  subordi- 

nation, subservience. 

2.  Bottom  of  stroke  rising — desire  to  rise  in  life,  ambi- 

tion. 

3.  First  and  second  strokes  of  even  height — contented- 

ness,  evenness. 

4.  Second  stroke  higher  than  first  and  third  strokes- 

activity,  liveliness,  imagination,  eccentricity. 

5.  Separate  strokes — intuition,  nervousness,  excitability. 

ambition  and  acquisitiveness. 

6.  Last  stroke  very  heavy — energy,  strength. 

7.  First  stroke  starts  with  period — love  of  possession, 

ambition  and  acquisitiveness. 


89  10  ii  12  (3  ,£ 

326 

8.  Long,  small,  step-like  stroke  —  baslifulness,  combined 

with  pride  and  sensitiveness. 

9.  Strokes  of  wavy  lines  —  artistic  taste,  amiability,  en- 

thusiasm. 

10.  Rounded  below  and  open  like  letter  "u"  —  great  ami- 

ability, friendliness,  generosity. 

11.  Down  stroke  looped  —  friendliness,  talkativeness,  gen- 

erosity. 

12.  Wide,  broad  and  rounded  —  jollity,  sybaritic,  epicu- 

rean, frankness. 

13.  Narrow  and  sharp  —  perseverance,  energy,  economy. 

14.  Closed  and  roof-like  at  top  —  great  reserve,  difficulty 

in  making  friends,  stubbornness. 

N 


1.  Well  curved  first  stroke  with  club-like  ending  —  great 

ability  to  earn  and  possess,  eager  to  get  what's 
due;  energy. 

2.  Last  stroke  long  and  horizontal  —  energy,  concentra- 

tion, ambition. 

3.  All  strokes  wavy  and  wide  —  affectation,  vanity,  co- 
quetry. 


168  HOW  TO  READ 

4.  Long  curved  upward  end-stroke — enterprise,  ambi- 

tion, daring,  imagination. 

5.  Inwardly   bent   first    stroke — humor,    wit,   but   also 

selfishness. 

6.  First  stroke  very  long  and  curved — faithfulness,  good 

memory. 

7.  Narrow  and  sharp — steadfastness,  quick  decision. 


n 


32S 

1.  Well    curved    first    stroke    and    club-like    ending— 

covetousness  ;  energy. 

2.  Last  stroke  long  and  horizontal  —  energy,  concentra- 

tion. 

3.  All  strokes  wavy  and  wide  —  affectation,  vanity. 

4.  Long  curve  upward  and  end-stroke  —  enterprise,  am- 

bition, daring,  imagination. 

5.  Inwardly  bent  first  stroke  —  humor,  but  also  selfish- 

ness. 

6.  First  stroke  very  long  and  curved  —  faithfulness,  good 

memory. 

7.  Narrow  and  sharp  —  steadfastness,  quick  decision, 


169 


0 


5 
329 


1.  Plain    oval — methodical  -  thinking,    reason ,  love    of 

mathematics. 

2.  Open  above — clearness  of  expression,  conversational 

ability,  frankness. 

3.  Closed  on  top — secretiveness,  reserve. 

4.  Hook  or  dash  on  capital  0 — criticism. 

5.  Open  with  ringed  loop — disposition  to  rule,  tyranny. 

6.  Open  below — hypocrisy,  deceitfulness,  frequently  dis- 

honesty. 

7.  Looped  in  oval — egotism,  inclination  to  insincerity. 

8.  Loops  run  together — reserve. 

9.  Open  at  left — hypocrisy,  deceit. 


170  HOW  TO  READ 

o 


0  -''fr' 0~  -6*    0    O  '-6~    0* 


_  —  —  -  p 

1.  Plain    oval — methodical    thinking,    reason,    love    of 

mathematics. 

2.  Open  above— clearness  of  expression,  conversational 

ability,  frankness. 

3.  Closed  on  top — secretiveness,  reserve. 

4.  Hook  or  dash — criticism. 

5.  Open  with  ringed  loop — disposition  to  rule,  tyranny. 

6.  Open  below— hypocrisy,  deceitfulness,  frequently  dis- 

honesty. 

7.  Looped  in  oval — egotism,  inclination  to  insincerity. 

8.  Loops  run  together — reserve. 

9.  Open  at  left — hypocrisy,  deceit. 


1.  First  stroke   or  loop  connected  with  upper  loop- 

affectation,  snobbishness. 

2.  Wide  open — liberal  spender,  fond  of  the  table,  and  of 

pleasure. 

3.  Narrow  with  small  rolled  upper  first  stroke — bashful- 

ness,  strong  desire  to  earn  and  save  money. 

4.  Consisting  of  several  parts — deceit,   prevarication; 

desire  to  appear  better  than  the  writer  really  is. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          171 

5.  Last  stroke  rolled  inwardly  —  secretiveness. 

6.  Special  last  strokes  —  individuality 

7.  Typographical  —  good  taste,  order. 


8.  Looped  first  stroke  —  moderate  stubbornness. 

9.  Composed  of  two   special  strokes  —  pretentiousness, 

imagination,  originality. 

10.  Large  long  loop  —  originality. 

11.  Plain,  like  pointed  letters  —  order,  method,  plainness. 

12.  Well  formed  and  artistic  —  love  of  art  and  music, 

harmony. 

13.  Twisted,  mixed  loops,  first  stroke  short  —  great  activ- 

ity and  versatility,  diplomacy. 

14.  Very  long  first  stroke  —  liveliness. 


333 

1.  Last  stroke  rolled  inwardly — secretiveness,  hypocrisy. 

2.  Typographical — good  taste,  order. 

3.  Looped    first    stroke — moderate    stubbornness,    ob- 

stinacy. 

4.  Very  long  first  stroke — liveliness,  versatility. 


172  HOW  TO  READ 


334 

1.  Open  on  top — talkativeness,  open-mindedness. 

2.  Narrow  and  sharp — narrow-minded,  mean,  stingy. 


1.  Open  on  top — talkativeness,  open-minded. 

2.  Large  and  rounded — generosity,  frankness. 

3.  Narrow  and  sharp — narrow-minded,  mean,  stingy. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          173 
R 


336 


1.  Much  shortened  at  end — impatience,  nervousness. 

2.  Upward   eccentric   strokes — individuality,   looseness 

of  sense  of  moral  obligation. 

3.  Bent,  narrow — timidity,  amiability,  weakness. 

4.  Well  looped — cunning,  vanity,  clumsiness. 

5.  Close  and  short — quickness,  rapidity  in  action,  but 

also  superficiality. 

6.  Typographical — culture,  taste,  harmony,  simplicity, 

will-power. 

7.  Connected  with  next  letter — steadfastness. 


*L     4 

'  337 

1.  Wide  and  broad,  correct  as  per  copy-book — loqua- 

cious, conventional,  circumventive. 

2,  Typographical culture,  taste,  harmony,  simplicity, 

will-power. 


174  HOW  TO  BEAD 


S 


338 


1.  Connected  with,  next  letter — method,  symplicity,  de- 

duction. 

2.  Plain  wavy  stroke — culture,  independence,  especially 

of  mind. 

1.     Long    end-strokes — eagerness    to    protect,    love    of 

4.  Close  to  copy-book — little  independence  and  no  in- 

dividuality. 

5.  End-stroke  well  looped — ability  to  keep  one's  " coun- 

sel," as  well  as  ''cents." 

6.  Typographical — aesthetic  taste. 

7.  Very  sloping  but  other  letters  more  vertical — great 

impulsiveness  at  first  which,  however,  is  soon  con- 
trolled by  reason. 

8.  End-stroke  turned  back — carefulness,  foresight. 


CHAKACTEE  FROM  HANDWRITING          175 


10  II  12. 

339 


9.     Sharp — steadfast  character. 

10.  Sharp  corners  at  loops — little  adaptability,  indepen- 

dence, rudeness,  individuality. 

11.  Sharp  ending  stroke — caution,  shrewdness. 

12.  With  very  long  and  sharp  upward  first  strokes — good 

memory  and  excellent  hearing;  cannot  bear  such 
sounds  as  scraping  of  pencil,  friction  of  rusty 
door-hinges,  etc. 

13.  Sharp  lower  stroke,  connected  with  next  letter — quick 

of  speech,  deduction,  rapid  reasoning. 

14.  Small  and  simple — modesty  in  speech  and  dress. 

15.  Sharp  downward  last  stroke — quickness,  haste,  sharp- 

ness. 


176  HOW  TO  BEAD 


*  s 

2        3        4        5         6/7'8       9/io       .11 
340 


1.  Connected  with  next  letter — method,  simplicity,  de- 

ductive. 

2.  Plain  wavy  stroke — culture,  independence,  especially 

of  mind. 

3.  Like  the  figure  3 — methodical  mind. 

4.  Close  to  copy-book — little  independence  and  no  in- 

dividuality. 

5.  Typographical — aesthetic  taste,  orderly. 

6.  Very  sloping  but  other  letters  more  vertical — great 

impulsiveness  at  first,  which,  however,  is  soon  con- 
trolled. 

7.  Antique  or  eccentric — originality. 

8.  End-stroke  turned  back — carefulness,  foresight. 

9.  Sharp — steadfast  character. 

10.  Sharp    corners    at    loops — little    adaptability,   inde- 

pendence, rudeness,  individuality. 

11.  Sharp  ending  stroke — caution,  shrewdness. 


CHAEACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         177 


'2-  '3  13  a.        14.  /  is 

341 


12.  With  very  long  and  sharp  upward  first  strokes — good 

memory  and  excellent  hearing  cannot  bear  such 
sounds  as  scraping  of  slate-pencil,  etc. 

13.  Sharp   lower   stroke,    connected   with  next   letter — 

quickness  of  speech,  deduction,  rapid  reasoning. 

14.  Small  and  simple — modesty  in  speech  and  dress. 

15.  Sharp  downward  last  stroke — quickness,  haste,  sharp- 

ness. 


T 


342 

1.  With  long  curved  upper  strokes — humor,  wit,  jollity. 

2.  Bounded  end-stroke — amiability,  friendliness. 

3.  Plain,  only  two  strokes — good  taste,  harmony,  art  and 

music-critic. 

4.  Dash  to  the  right — enterprise,  enthusiasm,  initiative, 

ambition  (if  long). 

5.  Dash  to  the  left — indecision,  hesitancy,  disappoint- 

ment. 

6.  Broken  dashes — mental  depression. 


178  HOW  TO  READ 


343 


7.  With  long  double  loops — pride  in  past  successes. 

8.  Dagger-like  and  sharp  at  end — gossip,  brutality. 

9.  Dash  is  club-like  at  end — great  energy,  but  also  vio- 

lence and  temper. 
10.     Typographical — culture,  good  taste. 


t 


1.  With  long  curved  upper  strokes — humor,  wit,  jollity. 

2.  Small  upper  stroke,  upper  part  of  letter  open — re- 

serve, conversational  ability,  modesty,  eloquence. 

3.  Rounded  end-stroke — amiability,  friendliness. 

4.  Plain,  only  two  strokes — good  taste,  harmony;  art 

and  musical  critic. 

5.  T.  dashes  in  same  writing  varying — fickleness,  energy 

changeable. 

6.  Dash  to  the  right — enterprise,  enthusiasm,  initiative, 

ambition  (if  long). 

7.  Dash  to  the  left — indecision,  hesitancy,  disappoint- 

ment. 

8.  Broken  dashes — mental  depression. 


179 


»  /*  IS 

34.5 


9.     With  long  double  loops — pride  in  past  successes. 

10.  Dagger-like  and  sharp  at  end — gossip,  brutality. 

11.  Connected  with  next  letter — logic,  perseverance. 

12.  Double  triangle,  dash  rounded — mischief,  malicious- 

ness. 

13.  Dash  club-like  at  end — great  energy,  but  also  violence, 

temper. 

14.  Zigzag  dash — irregular  character,  easily  angered  and 

quick-tempered. 

15.  Hook  at  end  of  dash — perseverance,  energy. 


a/ 
346  ** 

16.  Claw-like  hooks  at  each  end  of  dash — contrariness, 

stubbornness. 

17.  Upward  dash — combativeness,  enthusiasm. 

18.  Downward    dash,    thin — easily    depressed,    sadness, 

weakness. 

19.  Triangular  upward  dash — individuality,  but  intoler- 

ance of  others'  opinions. 

20.  Two    plain    separated    strokes — executive    ability, 

despotism. 


180  HOW  TO  BEAD 

21.  Downward  club-like  ending — stubbornness;  hard  to 

convince. 

22.  Short  and  thick  dashes — concentration,  decision,  will- 

power. 

23.  Sharp  erding  dashes — prone  to  indulge  will-power 

and  energy. 

24.  Dash  in  centre  and  short — subservient  humility. 


34-7 


25.  Long  thin  dashes — activity,  little  power  of  resistance. 

26.  Little  hook  attached  to  letter — nervousness,  irrita- 

bility. 

27.  Dash  low  on  letter — obedience. 

28.  Dash  high  above  letter — high  ideals,  love  of  domi- 

neering, political  ability. 

29.  Typographical — good  taste,  culture. 

30.  Knots  in  dash — persistence,  perseverance. 

31.  Dash  left  out  with  thin  writing — lack  of  energy. 


32  35 

348 


32.  Heavy  curved  dash — humor,  wit. 

33.  Rounded-off  dash  and  connected — indecision. 


u 


u 


'  2.  3  4.  5 

349 


1.  "Wide  and  round — liberal  spender,  generosity. 

2.  Narrow  and  sharp — close  in  money  matters,  reserved. 

3.  Plain  strokes — simplicity,  clearness. 

4.  Long  first  stroke  with  round  letters — love  of  discus- 

sion and  argument. 

5.  Long  first  stroke  with  sharp  letter — spirit  of  oppo- 

sition. 


u 


350 


1.  Wide  and  round — liberal  spender,  generosity. 

2.  Narrow  and  sharp — close  in  money  matters,  reserved. 

3.  Plain  strokes — simplicity,  clearness. 

4.  Long  first  stroke  with  round  letters — love  of  discus- 

sion and  argument. 

5.  Long  first  stroke  with  sharp  letter — spirit  of  oppo- 

sition. 


182  HOW  TO  BEAD 


Vv '  v 

wl  *^k          *3 


351 


1.  Long,  upward,  sharp  end-stroke — protection,  enter- 

prise, ambition. 

2.  Round  and  broad — liberality,  amiability. 

3.  Sharp  and  narrow — closeness,  quietness. 

4.  Fancy  loops — vanity,  coquetry,  pride. 

5.  Wavy  down-strokes — hypocrisy  and  deceit. 

6.  Club-like  end-strokes — desire  for  power,  changeable, 

envious. 

7.  Hook  on  top  of  last  stroke — aggressiveness,  criticism. 


tr    y    y- 

2  3  41 

352 


1.  Long,  upward,  sharp  end-stroke — protection,  enter- 

prise, ambition. 

2.  Round  and  broad — liberality,  amiability. 

3.  Sharp  and  narrow — closeness,  quietness. 

4.  Hook  on  top  of  last  stroke — aggressiveness,  criticism. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          183 
W 


3S3 


1.  Long    end-strokes — eagerness    to    protect,    love    of 

family  life,  family  pride. 

2.  Hook  on  first  stroke — selfishness. 

3.  Wide  open — liberality,  frankness,  loquaciousness. 

4.  Sharp  and  narrow — economy,  reserve. 

5.  Very  small  and  narrow — stinginess,  meanness. 

6.  Rounded   fancy    strokes — circumlocution,    forgetful- 

ness. 

7.  Plain  strokes — simplicity,  order. 


w 


»  a  3456 

354 

1.  Lond    end-strokes — eagerness    to    protect,    love    of 

family  life,  family  pride. 

2.  Hook  on  first  stroke — selfishness. 

3.  Wide  open — liberality,  frankness,  loquaciousness. 

4.  Sharp  and  narrow — economy,  reserve. 

5.  Very  small  and  narrow — stinginess  and  meanness. 

6.  Plain  strokes — simplicity,  order. 


184  HOW  TO  READ 

X 


'  2. 

355 

1.  In  cross-strokes — precaution. 

2.  In  loop-strokes — talkativeness,  annoyance. 

x     oc 

•  * 

356 

1.  In  cross  strokes — precaution. 

2.  In  loop  strokes — talkativeness,  bothersomeness. 


1.  Typographical-border,  good  taste,  decision. 

2.  Regular  form — plainness,  simplicity. 

3.  Large  under  loop — good-eater,  pleasure-lover. 

4.  Narrow — close-fisted,  narrow-mindedness. 

5.  Special    curve    in    lower    loop — eccentricity,    cere- 

monious. 

6.  Break  in  lower  loop — nervousness,  heart-trouble. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          185 


,2345  6 

356  B 

1.  Typographical — order,  good  taste,  decision. 

2.  Regular  form — plainness,  simplicity. 

3.  Large  underloop — good-eater,  pleasure-lover. 

4.  Narrow — close-fisted,  narrow-mindedness. 

5.  Special    curve    in    lower    loop — eccentricity,    cere- 

monious. 

6.  Break  in  lower  loop — nervousness,  heart-trouble. 


Z   Z 


357 

1.  Made  of  two  strokes — enthusiasm,  geniality. 

2.  Typographical — artistic  sense,  orderly,  activity,  sim- 

plicity. 

3.  Shortened  lower  stroke — rapidity  in  thought  and  act. 

4.  Second  stroke  curved  to  left — egotism,  eccentricity. 

5.  Capital  letter  in  inside  of  word — originality,  gener- 

osity. 


186          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


355 


1.  Made  of  two  strokes — enthusiasm,  geniality. 

2.  Typographical — artistic  sense,  orderly. 

3.  Shortened  lower  stroke — rapidity  in  thought  and  act. 

4.  Second  stroke  curved  to  left — egotism,  eccentricity. 


SOME  SPECIAL  LETTEKS  OF  THE  ALPHABET 

Methodical,  sober-minded  and  imaginative  persons,  such 
as  teachers,  mathematicians,  and  other  professional  men 
frequently  write  letters  which  look  like  figures,  making  it 
easy  to  diagnose  their  characteristics. 


J3 


3S9 


4- 


1*1 

360 


3 


H-4-  .p«3 

361 


2 


362 

187 


HIERATIC  WRITING 

ABOUT  2500  B.C. 
BIBLIOTHEQUE  NATIONALE,  PARIS 

THIS  specimen  is  from  the  ''Oldest  Book  in  the  World." 
The  Egyptians  used  the  most  elaborate  system  of  hiero- 
glyphics but  at  the  same  time  developed  a  script  which 
could  be  easier  written  than  the  pictures  of  the  hiero- 
glyphics. 

This  particular  specimen  of  hieratic  writing  was  prob- 
ably written  by  an  Egyptian  priest  during  the  time  of  the 
builders  of  the  Pyramids  and  records  the  regrets  of  an  old 
man  that  times  are  not  what  they  once  were. 


189 


190         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


ASSYRIAN  TABLET 


ASSYRIAN  TABLETS 

750  B.C. 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THESE  tablets  belong  to  the  most  extraordinary  lot  of 
documents  of  all  the  rare  treasures  in  the  British  Museum. 
The  writing  was  executed  with  some  sharp  instrument  on 
brick-clay,  after  which  it  was  baked.  This  accounts  for  the 
splendid  state  of  preservation  in  which  these  tablets  were 
found.  They  are  old,  for  they  were  inscribed  in  about  the 
year  750  B.C.  and  the  specimen  reproduced  here  is  the  elev- 
enth tablet  of  the  famous  Babylonian  creation-epic — The 
Story  of  the  Deluge  (Gilgamesh).  The  story  is  told  by 
Ut-Naphistim  and  seems  to  have  set  at  rest  many  of  the 
doubters  of  the  Bible  version  of  the  Deluge. 


191 


192 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  VERY  curious  reproduction  of  a  Chinese  book  of  picture 
writing  from  Moso,  in  the  Province  of  Yunan,  China.  It 
it  written  on  native  paper,  similar  to  that  used  in  Thibet. 
Its  age  is  unknown. 

Painting  being  the  most  prominent  art  of  China,  and 
intimately  connected  with  writing,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  latter  should  also  be  deemed  a  fine  art,  demand- 
ing a  similar  skill  and  power  in  the  use  of  the  brush.  When 
we  bear  in  mind  that  the  Chinese  painter  insists  upon  his 
picture  suggesting  a  poetic  idea  rather  than  upon  repro- 
ducing material  objects;  when  it  is  considered  that  the 
phrase:  "A  picture  is  a  voiceless  poem,"  has  long  ago 
passed  into  proverbial  speech  in  China,  we  will  easily 
understand  how  it  happens  that  in  the  origin  of  writing, 
Chinese  differs  from  European,  and  even  from  Oriental 
languages.  As  an  almost  invariable  rule,  writing  originates 
in  symbolic  representations  of  speech. 

In  China,  however,  the  development  of  spoken  and 
written  speech  began  at  a  very  early  day  to  diverge  and 
differ.  Very  little,  indeed,  is  recorded  concerning  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  Chinese  language;  so  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing  how  it  was  spoken  or  pronounced  in  ancient  times. 

The  Chinese  Script  is,  indeed,  as  the  lawyers  say — sui 
generis.  It  is  unique ;  it  is  positively  fascinating  even  when 

193 


194          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

the  brush,  instead  of  the  usual  pen,  is  manipulated  by  the 
hand  of  the  humble,  patient,  industrious  celestial  laundry- 
man.  Do  we  not,  as  we  view  him  so  engaged,  have  a  feeling- 
somewhat  akin  to  the  charm  and  admiration  that  we  feel  for 
another  artist,  who  wields  his  brush  on  the  canvas?  Has 
the  present-day  Chinaman  not  come  honestly  by  this  talent? 
It  is  his  by  inheritance,  for  although  the  universal  rule 
derives  all  writing  from  pictures,  yet  in  Chinese  alone  of 
all  living  languages,  these  original  pictographs  survive, 
while  they  were  at  a  very  early  stage  of  evolution,  first 
transformed  into  hieroglyphics  and  ultimately  absorbed 
into  the  alphabet  of  other  existing  languages. 

There  are  one  or  two  myths  current  with  the  Chinese 
concerning  the  origin  of  their  script,  two  of  which  may  be 
appropriately  mentioned.  One  origin  is  ascribed  to  a 
mythical  emperor,  Fu-Hsi,  3000  B.C.,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  inspired  with  the  idea  of  a  system  of  written  char- 
acters by  the  marks  on  the  back  of  a  dragon-horse — a 
legend  which  induces  one  to  suspect  an  ingenious  attempt 
thus  to  account  for  the  adoption  of  the  dragon  as  an  im- 
perial emblem.  Another  origin  of  script  is  assigned  to  a 
sort  of  demigod,  a  being  of  fabulous  powers  whose  inspira- 
tion was  derived  from  the  "foot-prints"  so  to  speak,  of  a 
bird's  claws  upon  the  sand.  The  former  explanation  seems 
to  be  the  more  probable. 


TAX  RECEIPTS  FROM  THEBES 

210  B.C. 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  specimen  is  of  very  early  origin,  being  one  of  the 
collection  of  Greek  writing  on  papyrus  recovered  in  Egypt 
and  is  for  the  payment  of  tax  on  land  and  was  issued  by 
Hermocles,  son  of  the  collector  of  taxes  in  Thebes.  Written 
in  demotic  character  on  a  long  sheet  of  papyrus  attached 
to  the  deed  of  sale  of  a  piece  of  land. 

Those  which  are  actually  dated  range  between  275  B.C. 
and  A.D.  680,  a  period  of  more  than  900  years.  These  dis- 
coveries have  given  us  a  very  fair  knowledge  of  the 
writing  of  the  Second  and  Third  Centuries  B.C.,  but  not  of 
the  First  Century,  and  we  have  an  abundant  and  almost 
uninterrupted  series  of  documents  for  the  first  250  years 
of  the  Christian  Era. 

The  first  discovery  of  Greek  papyri  was  made  during  the 
excavation  of  Herculaneum  in  1752,  but  we  are  chiefly  in- 
debted to  Egypt  for  other  discoveries. 

The  first  Egyptian  discovery  of  Greek  writing  was  in 
1778,  consisting  of  about  fifty  rolls  of  papyrus,  after  which 
there  was  no  find  of  any  consequence  until  1820,  when  the 
well-known  Second  Century  B.C.  documents  were  found  at 
Memphis,  on  the  site  of  the  Serapeum.  Subsequently  came 
the  period  of  literary  papyri  dating  from  the  last  book  of 

195 


196          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         197 

Homer's  Iliad,  called  the  Bankes  Homer — in  1821,  down 
to  the  funeral  oration  of  Hyperides  discovered  in  1856. 

A  large  and  extensive  discovery  of  papyri  was  made 
during  the  excavations  in  the  later  part  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  all  of  which  are  now  in  London,  Paris,  Oxford  and 
Berlin.  The  greatest  and  most  important  find  however 
occurred  in  1896-97,  during  excavations  conducted  by  Gren- 
fell  and  Hunt  for  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund  at  Behnesa 
—the  ancient  Oxyraynchus.  The  material  recovered  here 
amounted  to  several  thousands  of  papyri  and  includes  the 
Logia  or  Sayings  of  our  Lord,  and  some  parts  of  the  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew  and  of  classical  authors ;  and  covers  the  first 
seven  hundred  years  of  the  Christian  Era. 

There  have  been  other  smaller  groups  of  discoveries,  the 
most  interesting  of  which  is  that  of  W.  M.  Flinders  Petrie 
in  1889-90,  taken  from  mummy-cases  found  in  the  Necrop- 
olis of  Fayum  .  This  find  was  important  in  that  it  supplied 
samples  of  writing  of  the  Third  Century,  thus  extending 
our  knowledge  of  ancient  Greek  writing  to  another  period. 

The  changes  that  occurred  from  time  to  time  in  the  Greek 
writing  in  Egypt,  correspond  with  the  changes  in  the  politi- 
cal administration  of  the  country.  The  Ptolemaic  style  is 
clearly  marked  in  the  writing  practiced  during  the  Ptole- 
mies from  323  to  30  B.C.,  which  includes  the  specimen  in 
question.  Then  followed  the  period  of  Roman  rule  dating 
from  Augustus  and  extending  to  the  reign  of  Diocletian 
A.D.  284,  which  is  characterized  by  the  distinctive  Roman 
hand.  Lastly,  when  Egypt  was  placed  under  the  Byzantine 
administration,  down  to  the  conquest  by  the  Arabs  A.D.  640, 
there  was  a  third  change  characteristic  also  of  the  ruling 
element  and  distinguishable  as  the  Byzantine  style  of 
writing. 


198         CHAEACTEE  FROM  HANDWRITING 


tO  '  * 

Uw    -  '^ 
>••«     ,C- 


'  — 


DEED  FKUAI  ARS1NUE 


A.D.    30 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  COPY  of  a  receipt  in  Greek  for  produce  of  land,  as  rent 
in  kind,  paid  by  Petantis,  Pethis  and  Maries,  farmers,  to 
Chaeremon,  dated  the  30th  of  the  month  of  Caesarius  (Sep- 
tember) in  the  eighth  year  of  Tiberius  (A.D.  20).  Written 
in  rough  uncials  of  generally  normal  shapes. 

The  most  fruitful  source  of  Greek  papyri  from  Egypt  are 
the  excavations  which  were  made  near  the  end  of  the  last 
century.  These  are  even  now  in  progress,  but  a  large  find 
was  uncovered  in  1877  on  the  site  of  Arsinoe,  and  evidently 
of  a  late  date — the  Byzantine  period.  Unfortunately, 
although  the  documents  were  abundant,  they  were  not  in  a 
sound  condition,  being  fragmentary  and  not  of  a  literary 
character. 

The  period  covering  the  history  of  Greek  writing  begins 
with  the  Second  Century  B.C.  and  extends  to  the  Fifteenth 
Century.  As  far  as  we  are  able  to  discover  from  the  Greek 
MSS.  which  have  survived,  writing  passed  through  two 
stages,  exemplified  by  the  uncial  or  large  letters,  running 
from  the  earliest  specimens  to  the  Ninth  Century;  and  by 
the  minuscules  or  small  letters,  from  the  Ninth  Century  to 
the  discovery  of  printing. 

199 


200         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


THE  OLDEST  GREEK  BIBLE,  EXTANT 

FOURTH  CENTURY  A.D. 
BIBLIOTHECA  VATICANA,  ROME 

THIS  Bible  has  been  in  the  Vatican  Library  at  Rome  since 
1448,  for  it  is  entered  in  the  Catalogue  compiled  by  Pope 
Nicholas  VI. 

It  was  written,  probably  in  the  Fourth  Century,  on  fine 
vellum  in  triple  columns  of  42  lines  and  on  759  leaves,  each 
10 Yz  by  10  inches.  It  is  well  preserved  for  a  handwritten 
book  1,600  years  old. 

To  the  Hellinistic  Jews  of  Alexandria,  we  are  indebted 
for  the  Septuagint,  the  earliest  Greek  Bible. 

The  word  "Septuagint"  was  intended  to  apply  only  to 
the  Pentateuch,  but  was  afterwards  extended  in  its  appli- 
cation to  the  other  books  as  they  were  translated.  This 
version  was  accepted  as  Scripture  by  the  Jews  about  the 
First  Century  A.D.,  when  it  was  also  accepted  as  such  by  the 
Christian  Church. 

It  was  not  long  however  before  the  authority  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint was  questioned.  This  resulted  partly  from  the 
early  disputations  that  arose  between  the  Christians  and 
the  Jews,  but  principally  from  the  disagreements  that  arose 
between  it  and  the  Hebrew  version,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  Rabbi  Akiba  and  his  school.  This  questioning  of 
authority  led  to  the  introduction  of  three  new  versions — 

201 


202  HOW  TO  READ 

Symmachus,  Aquila  and  Theodotion  (Second  Century  A.D.). 
Aquila's  version  was  favorably  accepted  by  the  Hellenistic 
Jews  and  soon  superseded  the  old  Septuagint,  but  unfortu- 
nately no  trace  of  it  has  come  down  to  us.  The  only  part 
of  the  Septuagint*  version  which  has  been  preserved  is  a 
manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Daniel. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         203 


v  gfe  «f  r^^^;^'^t«;?  AK- 

. .    i  .  i  f  t 


GREEK  LETTER 


GREEK  LETTER 

350  A.D. 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  letter,  written  in  Greek,  is  from  Actius  to  his  "lord 
and  brother"  about  a  shipment  of  a  supply  of  corn,  oil  and 
hides.  It  was  on  papyrus,  measuring  9%  by  4  inches, 
written  in  an  upright,  cursive  hand  in  mixed  uncials  and 
minuscules. 


204 


205 


GRANT  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  RAVENNA 
SEVENTH  CENTURY  A.D. 

LIBRARY  OF  THE  EARL  OF  CRAWFORD  AND 
BALCARRES 

THIS  document,  written  on  papyrus,  early  in  the  Seventh 
Century,  shows  a  part  of  a  grant  from  Captain  Johannes 
to  the  Church  of  Ravenna.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  roll, 
five  feet  four  inches  long  and  twelve  inches  wide.  The 
writing  is  medium-sized  Roman  cursive.  Some  letters  are 
joined  to  those  following,  but  b,  d,  h,  i,  m,  n,  w,  x,  are  never 
joined,  but  stand  out  separately. 

In  this  grant  to  the  Church  at  Ravenna,  which  was  during 
the  period  of  Roman  rule,  the  writing  is  characterized  by 
roundness  of  style,  in  strong  contrast  to  the  stiffness  and 
rigid  linking  of  the  Ptolemaic  hand.  Curves  take  the  place 
of  straight  strokes  in  the  individual  letters  and  even  liga- 
tures are  formed  in  pliant  sweeps  of  the  pen.  This  transi- 
tion from  the  stiff  to  the  flexible,  finds  something  of  a 
parallel  in  the  development  of  the  curving  charter-hand  of 
the  Fourteenth  Century  from  the  rigid  hand  of  the  Thir- 
teenth Century;  following,  it  would  seem,  the  natural  law 
of  relaxation.  Roundness  of  style  is  characteristic  of  Greek 
cursive  writing  in  the  papyri  of  the  first  three  centuries  of 
the  Christian  Era,  however  much  individual  hands,  or 
groups  of  hands,  might  vary. 

206 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          207 

After  the  Third  Century  of  the  Christian  Era,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  meager  material  that  has  been  recovered, 
there  appears  to  have  been  a  reform  of  the  Roman  hand 
which  marks  the  entry  of  Greek  writing  into  the  new  phase 
of  the  Byzantine  period.  The  characteristic  features  of 
the  new  style  are  its  large  scale  and  its  formality — a  de- 
liberate calligraphic  effort  which  culminated  in  the  bold 
or  artificial  hand  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries. 


208          CHARACTEE  FROM  HANDWRITING 


THE  KORAN 
EIGHTH  CENTURY 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  part  of  a  page  from  a  fragment  of  a  manuscript 
copy  of  the  Koran  made  in  the  Eighth  Century  A.D.  It  is 
written  on  vellum  in  an  easy,  flowing  style.  The  part  repro- 
duced here  tells  of  the  advice  Mohammed  gave  to  "the 
faithful,"  to  the  effect  that  they  must  beware  of  poets  as 
deceivers. 

The  principal  feature  of  the  Koran  may  be  said  to  be 
Mohammed's  claim  that  it  was  sent  down  to  him  by  God, 
and  that  this  "sending  down"  was  not  done  at  any  one  or 
at  any  particular  time,  but  at  different  times  and  in  dif- 
ferent pieces  or  "revelations."  One  of  these  pieces,  like 
the  entire  collection,  was  called  "Kor'an"  or  "recitation" 
hence  the  familiar  term  applied  to  the  book. 

Like  other  oriental  visionaries,  who  had  led  austere  and 
ascetic  lives,  whose  nervous  systems  therefore  had  been 
made  acutely  sensitive  and  responsive  to  an  emotional  and 
imaginative  temperament,  Mohammed  was  thoroughly 
qualified  for  spasmodic  visits  from  angels  bearing  to  him 
messages  from  Heaven  and  commanding  him  to  reveal  them 
as  the  "word  of  God." 

It  is  believed  that  Mohammed  never  recorded  anything  in 
writing  but  that  he  had,  through  the  services  of  others  at 

209 


210  HOW  TO  READ 

Mecca,  where  the  art  of  writing  was  more  widely  practiced 
than  at  Medina,  started  the  written  record  of  his  "reve- 
lations." 

The  subject  matter  of  the  Koran  varies  widely.  We  have 
in  some  parts  pious  moral  reflections,  not  very  unlike  those 
of  Marcus  Aurelius,  though  more  primitively  expressed, 
interlarded  with  the  detailed  manifestation  of  the  omni- 
potence, the  goodness  and  righteousness  of  God  in  Nature, 
in  His  inspired  messengers  and  especially  in  Mohammed. 
Then  there  are  vivid  pictures  of  celestial  paradise,  the  tor- 
tures of  Hell,  and  the  arraignment  and  judgment  of  the 
world  on  the  "last  day."  Nor  does  he  fail  to  propound 
large  instalments  of  religious  and  moral  instruction  accom- 
panied by  solemn  warnings  and  threats  to  sinners,  and  the 
unfaithful,  not  neglecting  to  prove  to  and  convince  the  un- 
believer that  "Allah  is  Allah  and  Mohammed  is  His 
Prophet."  Other  parts  of  the  book  are  devoted  to  laws 
for  the  regulation  of  various  religious  and  social  cere- 
monies, in  which  Mohammed's  harem  is  included. 

At  the  time  of  Mohammed's  death,  the  Koran  existed  in 
different  pieces  of  material  which  were  widely  scattered. 
The  Calif-Abu-Bekr  under  the  persuasion  of  Omar,  com- 
mitted to  one  of  the  prophet's  amenuenses,  Zaid,  the  task 
of  collecting  these  parts  into  one  whole,  of  which  he 
wrote  a  fair  copy  and  gave  it  to  Abu-Bekr.  From  him  it 
descended  to  Omar,  his  successor,  who  again  bequeathed  it 
to  his  daughter  Hafsa,  one  of  the  widows  of  the  Prophet. 
This  copy,  however,  was  not  received  with  entire  favor  so 
that  the  Calif  Othman  (A.D.  650-651)  intrusted  this  work  to 
Zaid,  the  compiler  of  the  former  collection,  and  he  prepared 
a  canonical  edition  of  the  work,  dictating  to  three  associates 
from  the  copy  he  had  previously  made.  These  three  manu- 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          211 

scripts,  according  to  tradition,  were  sent  as  standard  copies 
to  the  metropolitan  cities,  Basra,  Kufa  and  Damascus,  and 
a  copy  was  retained  at  Medina.  There  have  been  other 
manuscripts,  but  they  have  all  been  derived  from  these  four. 


212          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


'  '  " 

nt 


e-  m 


p  ^ 
I  •• 


ii  i  fec£-e 


& '     *"*  I  V 

:$&;^<5me^  (pa  mm  gemfe 


' 


« 
fco/i 


p.tttrrajft: 


l; 


on 


BEOWULF 


BEOWULF 

A.D.    1000 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THE  Epic  of  Beowulf  forms  parts  of  a  single  MS.  written 
about  1000  A.D.  and  is  a  remarkable  relic  of  old  English 
literature.  This  poem,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  lucidity, 
skill  of  construction  and  for  the  vivid  imaginative  and  nar- 
rative power  of  its  author,  tells  of  the  prowess,  daring  and 
physical  accomplishments  of  Beowulf,  a  Scandinavian  hero 
who,  with  fourteen  companions,  went  over  to  Denmark  and 
delivered  its  king  from  the  ravages  of  a  terrible  monster, 
Grandel,  that  rendered  his  hall  uninhabitable.  Beowulf 
returns  to  his  native  land  and  becomes  its  king.  After 
reigning  many  years,  his  country  is  ravished  by  a  fiery 
dragon.  Beowulf,  in  spite  of  his  now  being  an  aged  mon- 
arch, goes  forth,  with  eleven  chosen  warriors,  and  gives 
battle.  Beowulf  is  almost  overpowered  when  Wiglat,  a 
mere  youth,  inexperienced  in  arms,  saves  him.  The  dragon 
is  killed,  Beowulf  receiving  a  fatal  wound. 

Episodes  are  introduced  which  have  no  relation  what- 
soever to  the  hero,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  including 
and  preserving  Germanic  myths  and  traditions. 

This  work  is  obviously  a  poetical  blending  of  fact  and 
fable ;  of  myth  and  history ;  of  the  mythical  Beaw  with  the 
historical  Beowulf,  the  former  a  Scandinavian  fiction,  the 
latter  an  English  personage. 

213 


214  HOW  TO  READ 

The  existing  MS.  is  written  in  the  West-Saxon  dialect, 
but  the  prevailing  opinion  is  that  it  was  transcribed  from 
an  Anglican — that  is,  from  a  Northumbrian  or  Mercian 
original. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


215 


o  __« 

p  \** 

^\  ^ 

\JJ  vx> 


>, 


2  ~~n   r^  ^ 


r- 

•?    "^ 

r-     ^ 


DOMESDAY  BOOK 

1086  A.D. 
EXETEE  LIBRARY 

A  PART  of  a  page  of  the  "Exon  Domesday,"  written  on 
vellum.  The  handwriting  changes  frequently  in  a  single 
page,  where  several  scribes  made  their  entries,  showing  a 
narrow  cramped  hand  with  last  strokes  drawn  to  a  point 
and  also  rounder  forms  of  writiDg  with  shorter  vertical 
strokes. 

The  Domesday  Book  no  doubt  suggested  itself  to  William 
as  a  means  of  ascertaining  and  determining  the  King's 
fiscal  rights  after  such  a  political  upheaval  as  the  Norman 
Conquest  and  the  wholesale  confiscation  of  estates  that 
resulted  from  it.  This  record  contained  not  only  the  names 
of  the  new  landholders,  but  an  estimated  annual  valuation 
of  all  the  land  subject  to  assessment  first,  at  the  time  of 
King  Edward's  death,  second,  at  the  time  when  the  Norman 
successors  received  it,  and,  third,  at  the  time  when  the 
survey  was  made. 

On  account  of  its  very  early  date,  the  "Domesday"  is  not 
generally  interesting  except  as  a  relic  of  the  past;  on  this 
account  it  is  unintelligible  to  all  but  the  archaeologist.  It 
however  was  frequently  invoked  as  testimony  in  the  middle 
ages,  and  is,  at  this  day,  used  for  this  purpose  but  with  no 
appeal  from  its  record,  to  which  circumstance  its  name 

316 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          217 

11  Domesday"  or  " Doomsday"  is  due.  Another  interesting 
feature  connected  with  this  ancient  register  is  that  it 
records  the  list  of  landowners  by  their  Christian  names 
only,  thus  failing  to  serve  the  pretentious  claims  of  families 
whose  "origins"  date  from  the  Conquest. 


218          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


I         —  '       ~~  " 

ol&u, 


9 

^S*» 


?' 


.r 


K 

< 
in 


TIRONIAN  LEXICON 


TIRONIAN  LEXICON 
TENTH  CENTURY 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  plate  represents  the  Notae  Senecae,  a  lexicon  of  the 
Tironiaii  shorthand  signs,  as  invented  by  Marcus  Tullius 
Tiro,  the  freedman  of  Cicero.  This  Tironian  system  was 
apparently  partly  alphabetic,  partly  ideographic  and  partly 
arbitrary. 


219 


220         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


— 
PU 


PIPE  ROLL 

A.D.    1130 

PART  of  the  Great  Roll  of  the  Exchequer,  or  Roll  of  the 
Pipe,  for  the  thirty-first  year  of  Henry  I,  i.e.  from  Michael- 
mas 1129  to  Michaelmas  1130.  Written  in  a  bold  official 
hand,  guided  by  ruled  lines,  with  many  large  letters,  many 
of  which  are  stilted. 

There  were  two  sources  in  England  for  the  derivation  of 
a  national  hand — the  Irish  monasteries  in  the  north  and  the 
Roman  missionaries,  who  taught  their  style  of  writing  in 
these  monasteries.  The  former  prevailed  throughout 
Britain  and  was  finally  adopted  as  the  national  hand  after 
receiving  the  distinctive  marks  as  such  from  the  English 
scribes. 

The  first  stage  of  English  writing  was  the  round  hand  of 
which  there  were  two  kinds — bookwriting  of  a  very  beau- 
tiful character  of  which  the  Lindisfarne  Gospels  or  "Dur- 
ham Book"  is  a  fine  specimen.  This  style  of  hand  prevailed 
in  the  north.  In  the  south  a  less  pretentious  and  plainer 
style  was  employed.  The  next  stage,  that  of  the  more  con- 
venient pointed  hand,  was  reached  about  the  Eighth  Cen- 
tury, and  continued  during  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Centuries, 
when  the  foreign  minuscules  became  a  controlling  element 
in  English  writing.  From  this  time  the  evolution  of  the 
national  hand  in  the  progressive  changes  of  the  pointed 
style  can  be  easily  traced  in  the  Facsimiles  of  Ancient 
Charters  in  the  British  Museum  and  in  the  Facsimiles  of 
Anglo-Saxon  MSS  of  the  Rolls  series. 

221 


222 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  POEM  OF  CAEDMON 
ELEVENTH  CENTURY 
BODLEIAN  LIBRARY 

A  PAGE  of  the  poems  in  Anglo-Saxon  which  bore  Caed- 
mon's  name.  The  Saxon  minuscules  are  rather  square  but 
change  toward  the  end.  It  was  probably  executed  by 
Ailfivine,  Abbot  of  New  Minster  or  Hyde  Abbey  at  Win- 
chester A.D.  1035. 

All  that  we  know  of  Caedmon,  the  earliest  English  Chris- 
tian poet,  is  derived  from  Baeda,  "The  Venerable  Bede," 
who  informs  us  that  Caedmon  was  a  herdsman  and  that  he 
received  his  call  as  a  poet  in  a  dream.  Having  failed, 
from  lack  of  ability,  to  comply  with  a  request,  which  was 
made  upon  him  on  a  particular  occasion,  to  sing  to  the  harp, 
he  went  to  bed  and  fell  asleep.  He  then  had  a  dream  in 
which  some  one  appeared  to  him  and  requested  him  to  sing 
"  of  the  beginning  of  created  things."  He  objected,  alleg- 
ing inability,  but  was  compelled  to  obey,  and  found  himself 
uttering  verses  that  he  had  never  before  heard. 

Baeda  has  given  a  prose  paraphrase  of  this  song,  but  tells 
us  that  it  represents  the  sense  only,  not  the  words  them- 
selves nor  their  arrangements ;  in  fact,  not  the  poetry,  be- 
cause, of  course,  no  poem  can  be  rendered  in  a  foreign 
tongue  without  losing  much  of  its  beauty.  Upon  awaking, 
all  the  verses  of  the  poem  that  Caedmon  had  sung  in  his 

223 


224  HOW  TO  BEAD- 

dream  came  to  him,  to  which  he  made  additions.  He  told 
all  this  to  his  employer,  who  thereupon  took  him  to  a  neigh- 
boring monastery  at  Streanaeshalch,  now  called  Whitby, 
where  the  Abbess  discovered  that  Caedmon  had  received  the 
divinus  afflatus  from  Heaven.  She  tested  him  by  proposing 
certain  portions  of  sacred  history  for  poetical  treatment. 
He  complied,  fulfilled  his  task  and  took  up  his  abode  at  the 
monastery,  where  thenceforth  the  learned  monks  expounded 
to  him  scripture  history  and  Christian  doctrine,  all  of  which 
he  rendered  into  exquisite  poetry.  He  reproduced  The 
Creation  and  The  Fall  of  Man,  The  Departure  from  Efiypt 
and  The  Entrance  into  the  Promised  Land,  The  Immaculate 
Conception,  The  Passion,  The  Resurrection,  The  Ascension 
of  the  Savior  of  Mankind,  The  Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost' 
and  The  Teaching  of  the  Apostles.  He  also  wrote  many 
songs  of  the  terrors  of  the  coming  judgment,  of  the  horrors 
of  hell,  of  the  sweetness  of  Heaven  and  of  the  mercies  and 
judgments  of  God. 

The  song  which  Caedmon  is  said  to  have  composed  in  his 
dream,  is  still  extant  and  is  preserved  in  the  poet's  own 
dialect  in  a  MSS.  of  the  Eighth  Century.  It  is  the  only  one 
of  his  abundant  works  that  can  be  identified  with  certainty. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


225 


T*-* 

^>   , 


rA  v. 

Pf^-v., 

ff  £'  14  & -   T 

^^i  -4*1  ^  t^1^ 
.^^  <5  >  j  v>  ti 

':  ^  fc^rl^- !. 


RICHARD  I 

A.D.    1189 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  document  is  from  the  charter  of  King  Richard  the 
First  and  confirms  to  his  steward  Alured  de  S.  Martin 
certain  lands  in  Eleham  and  Bensington  in  Oxfordshire. 
The  deed  is  written  in  court  hand,  with  plenty  of  capitals 
and  flourished  letters. 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  second  stage  in  the  evolution 
of  the  British  national  handwriting,  which,  as  has  been 
stated  in  the  preceding  article  on  the  Pipe  Roll  of  the 
Exchequer,  A.D.  1130,  was  reached  in  the  Eighth  Century 
and  developed  during  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Centuries,  when 
it  was  superseded  by  the  foreign  element  resulting  in  this 
pointed  style  of  the  national  hand. 


226 


GRANT  TO  MARGAN  ABBEY 

A.D.  1329 
TALBOT  CHARTER 

THIS  is  a  grant  from  William  la  Zouche,  Lord  of 
Margan,  and  Alianora,  his  wife,  to  Margan  Abbey  of  cer- 
tain lands.  It  is  dated  at  Hanley,  18th  of  February,  in 
the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III  (A.D.  1329),  and 
is  written  on  vellum,  measuring  11  by  8  inches.  Written 
in  a  court  hand  of  transitional  character,  advancing  from 
the  round  toward  the  later,  angular  style. 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  English  cursive,  charter- 
hand,  that  was  developed  side  by  side  with  the  more 
formal  book-hand  of  the  Middle  Ages.  From  the  Twelfth 
Century,  distinct  and  clean-cut,  cursive  styles  of  hand- 
writing were  started  in  the  various  countries,  and  these 
styles  can  be  easily  identified  with  corresponding  politi- 
cal periods.  The  changes  in  the  cursive  hand  were,  how- 
ever, subject  to  the  same  laws  of  organic  development 
that  governed  the  evolution  of  the  book-hand. 

With  regard  to  the  court-hand  or  charter-hand,  which 
had  been  introduced  into  England  after  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, in  the  Twelfth  Century,  it  is  characterized  by 
exaggeration  in  the  strokes  above  and  below  the  line — a 
legacy  of  the  old  Roman  cursive.  There  is  also  a  tend- 
ency to  form  the  tops  of  tall,  vertical  strokes,  as. in  b,  h, 

227 


228 


O 


1,  with  a  notch  or  cleft.  The  letters  are  well  made  and 
vigorous,  though  often  rugged.  As  the  century  advanced 
the  long  limbs  are  brought  into  better  proportion;  and 
early  in  the  Thirteenth  Century,  a  very  delicate  fine-stroked 
hand  comes  into  use,  the  clearing  of  the  tops  being  now  a 
regular  system,  and  the  branches  formed  by  the  cleft  fall- 
ing in  a  curve  on  either  side.  This  style  remains  the  writing 
of  John  and  Henry  III. 

Towards  the  latter  part  of  the  Thirteenth  Century,  the 
letters  grow  rounder,  there  is  generally  more  contrast  of 
light  and  heavy  strokes,  and  the  cleft  tops  begin,  as  it  were, 
to  shed  the  branch  on  the  left.  In  the  Fourteenth  Century 
the  changes  thus  introduced  make  further  progress,  and  the 
round  letters  and  single-branched  vertical  strokes  become 
normal  through  the  first  half  of  the  century.  Then,  how- 
ever, the  regular  formation  begins  to  give  way,  and  irregu- 
larity sets  in. 


230          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


«du»« 


4L*a- 


—^Srt^y 

I 

duftW^"       yd* 
^ 


MANDAEAN  PRAYER 


MANDAEAN  PRAYERS 

A.D.  1329 
BODLEIAN  LIBRARY 

WRITTEN  on  paper  about  5  by  4  inches,  in  Howaiza  on 
the  Tigris  in  the  year  1329.  This  is  the  oldest  dated 
Mandaean  Manuscript  in  Europe  or  America  up  to  the 
present  time. . 

A  most  interesting,  as  well  as  remarkable,  fact  concerning 
the  Mandaeans,  or  St.  John's  Christians — not  to  mention, 
Sabians  or  Nasoreans,  by  which  they  are  also  known — is 
that  their  religion  is  the  only  surviving  composite  of  Chris- 
tian, Jewish  and  Pagan  constituents,  based  upon  the  amal- 
gamation of  Greek  philosophy,  oriental  theosophy  and 
speculative  Christianity,  called  Gnosticism. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Mandaeans  dates  only  from  the 
first  Christian  missionaries  among  them  in  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  but  we  have  recent  accounts  of  their  manners  and 
customs  derived  from  a  converted  Mandaean  and  published 
by  M.  M.  Siouffi  in  1880.  Our  knowledge  of  their  religious 
doctrines  is  obtained  entirely  from  their  sacred  books,  con- 
sisting only  of  ancient  fragments  of  a  still  more  ancient 
literature.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  Sidra  Rabba  (Great 
Book)  comprising  two  parts,  the  larger  of  which  is  called 
yamina  (to  the  right  hand),  and  the  smaller  s-mala  (to  the 
left  hand).  The  former  is  for  the  use  of  the  living,  and 

231 


232          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

the  latter  contains  only  prayers  for  the  burial  service  of  the 
priests.  The  date  of  these  books  may  be  fixed  as  early  as 
between  A.D.  600  and  900,  but  the  MSS.  are  not  older  than 
the  Sixteenth  Century. 

In  the  religious  system  of  the  Mandaeans,  the  origin  of 
all  things  is  Pira,  with  whom  are  Ayar  ziva  rabba  "the 
great  shining  ether"  and  Mana  rabba  "the  great  spirit  of 
glory."  Mana  rabba  called  into  being  the  highest  of  the 
aeons  properly  so-called  Hayye  Kadmaye  "Primal  Life," 
who  is  the  Mandaean  God,  and  every  prayer,  as  well  as 
every  section  of  the  sacred  books,  begins  by  invoking  him. 
The  number  of  Mandaeans  existing  in  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury was  about  20,000  families,  but  at  the  present  day  there 
are  only  about  1,200  souls. 

They  have  a  peculiar  death-bed  rite,  consisting  first  of  a 
warm  bath  and  afterwards  a  cold  one ;  the  body  is  clothed 
in  a  shroud  of  seven  pieces,  the  feet  directed  to  the  north 
and  the  head  to  the  south  facing  the  pole  star. 


DANTE 

A.D.  1379 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  part  of  one  of  the  pages  of  the  Divina  Commedia 
of  Dante  with  interlinear  glosses.  It  was  written  at  Fer- 
rara.  The  document  is  written  in  set  Italian  minuscules, 
regular  at  first  but  more  or  less  carelessly  written  toward 
the  end. 

The  pivot  upon  which  the  life  of  this  immortal  poet 
turned  was  the  love  of  Beatrice  Portinari,  who  for  thirteen 
years  was  his  beacon  light  and  whose  death  in  1290  was  the 
purification  of  his  later  life  and  the  inspiration  of  his 
poetic  revelations  of  Paradise.  He  first  met  her  when  he 
was  only  nine  years  old  and  she  of  the  same  age.  ' ;  At  that 
moment, ' '  he  says,  ' '  I  saw  most  truly  that  the  spirit  of  life 
which  hath  its  dwelling  in  the  secretest  chamber  of  the 
heart  began  to  tremble  so  violently  that  the  least  pulses  of 
my  body  shook  therewith."  Beatrice,  however,  married 
another — Simone  de'  Bardi,  for  which  Dante,  when  a  pris- 
oner and  an  exile,  consoled  himself  by  reading  the  Book  of 
Boetius  and  Tully's  treatise  on  friendship.  This  must  have 
caused  him  to  recover  from  the  shock  of  her  death  for  in 
1292  he  married  Gemma,  daughter  of  Marietta  Donati,  by 
•whom  he  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  but  whom  he 
never  mentions  in  his  Divina  Commedia. 


234 


HOW  TO  READ 


.      .  ^ 

)  CWM? 
find  tv^  UttnC^d?crbt(b£*avo 


.n  Kcti 


rewind 


trjtTv* t  v»»»»*<'»k-wi  tn»*w*» ***»"•«•  l~cv'^c*r 

btftae  Invon  0  i?gmt;  opeww.  cittto  co  tmttx* 


ft  >^<l^-Vt 


*^i«r-+ 

^ 


DANTE 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          235 

Dante  soon  after  commenced  to  take  part  in  politics.  He 
held  public  office  and  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Bianchi  or  Whites,  as  against  the  Neri  or  Blacks — two 
political  factions  who  contended  for  power  in  Florence  in 
the  Thirteenth  Century.  The  Blacks  were  victorious  and  on 
January  27th,  1302,  Dante  was  charged  with  "baratteria" 
or  corrupt  robbery  and  speculation  while  in  public  office. 
Not  appearing  he  was  fined  5000  L.  and  sentenced  to  be 
burned  alive — if  found.  The  charge  was  preposterous  be- 
cause of  his  well-known  poverty,  but  the  sentence  was  not 
formally  reversed  until  1494  by  the  Medici. 

Ultimately  Dante,  sick  with  the  petty  quarrels  of  the 
contending  factions,  eagerly  looked  for  the  coming  of  a 
universal  Monarch  who  should  unite  all  men  and  countries 
under  institutions  best  suited  to  them,  should  do  the  work 
for  which  they  were  best  fitted  and  thus  promote  their 
welfare  and  happiness.  This  was  the  dream  of  the 
poet,  a  dream  that  lasted  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and, 
so  far  as  his  mother  country  was  concerned,  was  fully 
realized  500  years  after  in  the  United  Italy  of  modern 
times.  Dante's  great  epic,  the  Divina  Commedia,  is  sym- 
bolical from  commencement  to  end,  illustrating  the  "con- 
version" from  the  sinful  life,  the  judgments  and  punish- 
ments for  sin  and  path  to  earthly  Paradise,  where  Beatrice 
appears  and  leads  him  through  the  various  spheres  of  which 
Heaven  is  composed  to  the  Empyrean  or  Seat  of  God, 
where,  for  an  instant,  he  has  an  "intuitive  vision  of  Deity 
and  the  comprehension  of  all  Mysteries,  his  will  is  wholly 
blended  with  that  of  God,  and  the  poem  ends." 

The  writing  in  the  manuscript  indicates,  especially  in  the 
marginal  references,  much  intuition  and  vision,  combined 
however  with  logic  and  humor. 


236         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


<£^DT'O  i  ftuimtous  pet 


mitm  t  . 

uiijid  fern  wui/cts  t^iirc  ft(2fi)|»c  as 


WYCLIFFE'S  BIBLE 


WYCLIFFE 'S  BIBLE 

A.D.  1390 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  a  part  of  the  earliest  Wycliffe  translation  of  the 
Bible,  and  was  owned  by  Thomas  of  Woodstock,  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  youngest  son  of  Edward  III,  who  was  put  to 
death  by  Richard  II  in  1397.  The  inventory  of  his  goods 
contained  this  Bible.  It  is  written  in  bold  English  Minus- 
cules. Wycliffe 's  Bible  prose  is  the  earliest  classic  middle 
English. 

Wyckliffe's  claim  to  the  title  of  "founder  of  English 
prose-writing"  is  entirely  due  to  political  causes;  to  a 
question  agitated  between  Church  and  State;  the  question 
of  the  jurisdiction  and  power  of  the  Church  over  man's  civil 
rights  and  its  right  to  receive  and  hold  temporal  endow- 
ments. Two  serious  but  futile  attempts  were  made  to 
punish  Wyckliffe  for  his  political  writings,  which  were 
directed  against  the  folly  and  corruption  of  the  clergy, 
and  ultimately  developed  into  a  systematic  attack  upon  the 
" whole  established  order  in  the  Church."  It  was,  there- 
fore, not  the  dogmatic  but  the  political  policy  of  the  papacy 
that  came  under  the  lash  of  his  criticism  in  his  treatise  De 
Civili  domino,  or  "civil  lordship." 

In  this  propaganda  he  for  the  first  time  boldly  and  bpenly 
proclaimed  that  "righteousness  is  the  sole  indefensible  title 

237 


238          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

to  dominion  and  to  property;  that  an  unrighteous  clergy 
has  no  such  title,  and  that  the  decision  as  to  whether  the 
property  of  ecclesiastics  should  be  taken  away,  rests  with 
the  civil  power."  Wyckliffe's  agitation  and  propaganda 
had  hitherto  been  rather  academic.  He  determined  to  make 
it  popular,  and  inaugurated  the  institution  of  his  * '  poor ' '  or 
"simple"  priests  to  preach  his  doctrines  throughout  the 
country,  and  he  undertook  the  translation  of  the  Vulgate 
version  of  the  Bible  into  English.  This,  together  with  the 
translation  of  his  other  works  of  the  same  character,  fully 
entitle  him  to  the  claim  as  the  founder  of  English  prose- 
writing.  In  addition  to  this,  Wyckliffe  can  be  justly 
awarded  the  credit  of  having  convinced  his  countrymen,  at 
least,  of  their  dependence  upon  God  alone,  requiring  no 
mediation  of  priest  or  sacrament  of  the  Church;  and,  even 
more  than  this,  of  having,  through  the  effort  of  his  cele- 
brated disciple,  John  Huss,  raised  his,  Wyckliffe's  doctrine, 
to  the  dignity  of  a  national  religion  in  Bohemia. 


LETTER  OF  HENRY  IV 

A.D.    1400 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  LETTER  in  Latin  of  Henry  IV  of  England,  dated  Febru- 
ary 20th  (A.D.  1400).  Written  in  an  official  court-hand  with 
angular  letters,  but  compact  and  upright. 

The  handwriting  employed  in  this  letter  is  derived  from 
the  same  source  as  the  more  leisurely  and  formal  book- 
hand  used  in  copying  MSS.,  namely  the  "Caroline  Minus- 
cule ' '  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Centuries  and  is  found  in 
English  documents  from  the  conquest  1066  to  A.D.  1500. 

Both  types  acquired  their  distinctive  features  about  the 
Tenth  Century,  the  court-hand  attaining  its  greatest  grace 
and  beauty  about  the  latter  half  of  the  Thirteenth  Century 
and  deteriorating  rapidly  during  the  next  two  centuries. 
The  earlier,  curved  form  of  handwriting  was  replaced  by  a 
smaller  hand,  somewhat  oblique. 

Strokes  are  much  emphasized  and  thickened,  especially 
in  the  tail  of  g  and  s,  and  in  marks  of  abbreviation.  Diag- 
onal downstrokes,  such  as  that  of  d  and  v  are  on  the  whole 
thicker  than  vertical  downstrokes  and  the  head  of  b,  I  and  h 
show  an  increasing  tendency  to  split  and  to  become  flor- 
eated.  This  last  tendency  brings  about  an  increase  in  the 
thickness  of  the  downstrokes  which  gradually  become 
wedge-shaped  while  the  writing  as  a  whole  increases  in  size 

239 


240 


i     "i      *  '] 

£    ^  -  * 


I  Hi  I'll  if 

w/      ^""""^3        ?       f^v  *K      ^-. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          241 

towards  the  end  of  the  Thirteenth  Century.  Particularly 
characteristic  of  this  period  is  the  "S"  with  a  greatly  en- 
larged tail  and  a  very  small  head  more  or  less  resembling 
an  M  and  very  easily  mistaken  for  it.  The  old  story  of 
Sumpsimus  for  Mumpsimus  is  a  case  in  point. 

In  the  Fourteenth  Century,  the  exaggerated,  horizontal 
strokes  disappear  and  the  writing  at  first  becomes  more 
vertical,  giving  it  a  much  neater  appearance :  the  wedge- 
shaped  downstrokes  persist  but  gradually  come  to  be  flor- 
eated  or  split  at  the  top,  a  plain  hook  being  substituted. 
The  accent  which  preceded  the  dot  is  more  regularly  placed 
over  the  i,  the  single  i  being  now  quite  usually  so  marked. 
As  time  goes  on,  the  writing  becomes  both  rounder  and 
clumsier,  so  that  a  bad  hand  of  this  date  is  sometimes  super- 
ficially like  a  bad  hand  of  a  hundred  years  before.  After 
the  middle  of  the  century  a  certain  angularity  begins  to 
appear  in  the  letters,  especially  in  those  with  looped  heads 
and  this  forms  the  transition  to  the  writing  of  the  following 
century. 


242         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


§•«  -•£=- 


<»* 
.  ** 


ttv       — »T 


5  tfvg-!S''5  KT 

^h*  '      '       *^y          ^T^ 

feQ        *J          **        ^^      J  ** 

S  ji 

«0      -i^ 

t^  p 


5   ka 


~  '*$  m1:** 


SLAVONIC  GOSPELS 

FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  reproduction  is  part  of  a  page  of  the  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury copy  of  the  Gospels  in  Slavonic,  written  on  vellum. 
It  illustrates  the  uncial  and  cursive  forms  of  the  Cyrillic 
Russian  Alphabet.  This  early  Russian  script  was  used 
almost  exclusively  for  ecclesiastical  purposes. 

The  ecclesiastical  history  of  this  period  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  tracing  the  evolution  of  the  Slavonic  script 
and  language,  for  it  is  simply  the  record  of  the  means  by 
which  the  Slavonic  nations  became  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity. 

We  know  that  in  861  A.D.  Rostislav  of  Moravia,  fearing 
the  influence  of  the  Latin  missionaries,  applied  to  Byzan- 
tium for  teachers  who  might  preach  the  Gospel  in  the 
vulgar  tongue.  The  Emperor  sent  two  brothers  for  the 
purpose,  one  of  whom,  Constantine,  changed  his  name  to 
Cyril.  He  was  a  scholar,  philosopher  and  linguist.  He  and 
his  brother  Methodius,  not  only  taught  letters  and  the 
Gospel,  but  translated  the  necessary  liturgical  books.  This 
attempt  to  set  up  the  Slavonic  liturgy  was  strongly  op- 
posed. Pope  Nicholas  I  sent  for  the  brothers  but  when 
they  arrived  at  Rome  the  Pope  was  dead.  His  successor, 
Adrian  II,  received  them  warmly  and  accepted  their  trans- 

243 


244  HOW  TO  READ 

lations.  Constantine  died,  and  Methodius  was  tried  and  im- 
prisoned by  the  German  Bishop.  Subsequently  Pope  John 
VIII,  in  873,  liberated  him  and  permitted  Slavonic  service. 
The  Pope  openly  supported  him  and  restored  to  him  his 
archbishopric  in  880. 

Upon  the  death  of  Methodius  in  886  his  suffragan, 
Wiching,  a  German,  succeeded  him  and  through  the  aid  of 
the  new  Pope  Stephen  VI,  the  Slavonic  service-books  and 
those  that  used  them  were  driven  out  and  took  refuge  in 
Bulgaria. 

In  spite  of  this  expulsion,  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
Slavonic  Liturgy  was  suppressed  in  the  West.  It  lingered 
in  Moravia  until  the  Magyars  overran  the  latter;  and  it 
appears  to  have  secured  a  foothold  during  the  ministration 
of  Methodius  in  Bohemia,  Poland  and  Croatia.  The  Latin 
Church,  however,  ultimately  prevailed  in  those  places  and 
thus  became  permanently  separated  from  the  orthodox  Bul- 
garians, Russians  and  Servians.  It  would  seem  therefore 
that  Cyril  did  invent  a  Slavonic  alphabet,  "translated  at 
any  rate  a  Gospel  lectionary,  perhaps  the  psalter  and  the 
chief  service-books  into  a  Slavonic  dialect  and  it  seems  that 
Methodius  translated  the  epistles,  some  part  of  the  Old 
Testament,  a  manual  of  the  canon  law  and  further  liturgical 
matter."  But  we  do  not  know  for  certain  who  invented 
Cyrillic,  or  the  date  of  Cyril's  earliest  translations,  or  what 
people  used  his  dialect ;— that  is,  the  language  we  call  the 
Old  Church  Slavonic, 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          245 


V   1 


( 


* 


_         i         ^V    I .  J 

-^t     ^^  •  TV  5  v*   I 

f  ^  i    vT\  ,?^>f       t      t      *      f  K       § 

'^^M     Iv^.^l  j-     F 

£                           t  It     J  rf                                     ><  S    \       A 


. 


^   U     r 

**      c 


v;i,:>- 


o    ^4.4 

r •-*   i 
k 


r^ 


t  -    |  ^v  »-v 


THE  CHURCH  SLAVONIC  ALPHABET 

ABOUT  1700  A.D. 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  VERY  curious  document,  in  the  form  of  a  roll  of  paper 
16  feet  6  inches  long  and  8%  inches  wide.  It  gives  the 
various  cursive  forms  of  the  Church  Slavonic  Alphabet 
with  ornamental  variations.  This  alphabet  was  the  basis  of 
the  alphabets  adopted  by  the  Russians,  Bulgarians  and  by 
the  Illyrian  division  of  the  Slavs.  It  originally  contained 
48  symbols. 

The  Slavonic  languages  employ  three  alphabets,  corres- 
ponding to  three  respective  religious  rituals :  the  Latin  for 
those  requiring  Latin  services,  the  Cyrillic,  which  is  used 
by  the  orthodox  Slavs  and  is  simply  the  liturgical  Greek 
uncial  of  the  Ninth  Century  with  certain  ornamentations, 
and  the  Glagolitic  or  form  used  in  old  Slavonic  documents, 
which  has  survived  in  places  where  the  Roman  Church 
liturgy  prevails,  and  in  Montenegro. 

Peter  the  Great  caused  a  version  of  the  Cyrillic  alphabet 
to  be  made  for  Russian  use,  which  is  also  largely  employed 
by  Bulgaria. 

The  first  among  the  Slavs  to  adopt  an  adequate  system  of 
writing  were  the  Czechs,  and  their  alphabet  has  been 
adopted  by  other  Slavonic  peoples  who  use  Latin  letters. 

The  Oldest  Slavonic  writing  to  be  found  is  a  Cyrillic 
inscription  of  the  Tsar  Samuel  of  Bulgaria,  A.D.  993. 

246 


BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  letter  was  written  by  Montaigne  while  Mayor  of 
Bordeaux  to  the  Marechal  de  Matignon,  dated  Bordeaux, 
May  22nd,  1585. 

This  celebrated  French  essayist  was  born  at  the  Chateau 
Montaigne  near  Bordeaux  (as  he  is  very  particular  in 
informing  us)  between  11  A.M.  and  noon  on  February  28th, 
1533.  He  appears  to  have  been  the  subject  of  great  solici- 
tude and  care,  both  as  to  his  health  and  his  education.  He 
was  put  out  to  nurse  with  strong,  robust  peasant  women, 
and  he  was  provided  not  only  with  a  German  tutor  but 
with  servants  who  were  skilled  Latinists.  It  is  even  said 
that  the  delightful  and  fanciful  method  was  employed  of 
waking  him  by  the  ''concord  of  sweet  sounds"  and  soft 
music,  also  a  novel  and  mechanical  arrangement  for  teach- 
ing him  Greek  was  tried — but  without  success.  We  must 
however  always  bear  in  mind  that  almost  all  that  we  know 
about  Montaigne  has  come  from  himself. 

After  a  life  of  mixed  activity  as  a  courtier,  a  counsellor 
of  parliament  and  a  soldier,  he  retired  to  a  life  of  study, 
contemplation  and  learned  ease  at  Chateau  Montaigne. 

His  fame  rests  upon  his  essays.  He  is  credited  with  hav- 
ing perfected  a  style  all  his  own.  It  may  be  safely  con- 

247 


248 


HOW  TO  READ 


*      <*     3£     <£     V  V*         \>SX   Sfe^ 

§  *4  Hx*  fc&lfc 

v          v 

y  * 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          249 

tended  that  the  essay,  such  as  he  originated  and  perfected, 
has  no  modern  predecessor,  or  ancient  prototype.  His  style 
and  language  are  modelled  after  Plutarch,  but  with  an  inde- 
pendence that  makes  him  perfectly  original  in  his  ease  and 
flexibility. 


250         CHAEACTEE  FEOM  HANDWEITING 

^        ^         G 


MICHELAGNIOLO  BUONARROTI 

DATE  1508 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  plate  shows  part  of  a  letter  from  Michelangelo  in 
Rome  to  his  father,  Lodovico  di  Buonarroti  Simoni,  and 
was  written  in  June  1508. 

It  is  perhaps  fortunate  for  posterity  that  genius  often 
fails  at  first  to  realize,  or  even  to  suspect,  the  existence  of 
its  greatest  natural  adaption,  thereby  forcing  upon  others 
the  opportunity  of  doing  for  some  that  which  they  had 
seemingly  been  unable  to  do  for  themselves — namely  detect 
the  particular  excellence  or  greatness  for  which  nature  has 
destined  them. 

A  striking  example  of  this  is  the  case  of  Michelangelo 
who  was  easily  the  protagonist  among  the  matchless 
painters  who  flourished  during  the  revival  of  learning  in 
the  Fifteenth  Century.  Indeed  it  is  well  known  that  his 
"  natural  inclination  turned  his  attention  and  efforts  origi- 
nally to  sculpture."  A  living  proof  of  his  excellence  in  this 
field  is  his  colossal  statue  of  "David  the  Giant."  Again, 
he  is  also  said  to  have  confessed  that  painting  was  not  his 
"business" — not  his  "metier"  as  the  French  term  it. 

It  was  left  for  Pope  Julius  to  select  Michelangelo  and 
therefore  to  detect  in  him  the  abnormal,  artistic  ability  for 
the  execution  of  the  greatest  scheme  of  painting  perhaps 
ever  conceived.  Such  a  work  was  the  series  of  fresco-paint- 

251 


252         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

ings  with  which  Pope  Julius,  by  decree,  intended  to  embel- 
lish the  ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  at  Rome  and  which  he 
intrusted  to  the  magical  brush  of  the  great  Florentine 
painter.  It  was  not  without  much  misgiving  and  lack  of 
confidence  that  Michelangelo  entered  upon  the  undertaking, 
especially  as  the  scheme,  originally  confined  to  the  apostles, 
was  subsequently  enlarged  to  the  more  ambitious  effort  of 
reproducing  the  whole  of  the  Mosaic  Cosmogony  and  Fall 
of  Man  from  the  Creation  to  the  Flood,  together  with  the 
accessory  personages  of  prophets  and  sibyls  dreaming  on 
the  new  dispensation  of  Christ.  The  whole  was  to  be  in- 
closed and  to  be  divided  by  a  framework  of  painted  archi- 
tecture with  a  multitude  of  nameless  human  shapes  sup- 
porting its  several  members  or  reposing  among  them;  the 
shapes  meditating,  as  it  were,  between  the  features  of  the 
inanimate  framework  and  those  of  the  great  and  prophetic 
scenes  themselves. 

We  are  now  concerned  with  the  personal  characteristics 
that  are  made  to  stand  out,  in  bold  relief,  in  Michelangelo 's 
handwriting.  These  are:  imagination, — an  imagination, 
daring,  limitless,  exalted,  sublime;  Spiritual  grandeur, 
nobility,  power  and  character,  enthusiasm,  transcendental- 
ism and  piety  combined  with  philosophical  speculation  con- 
cerning human  destiny. 


MARTIN  LUTHER 

DATE  1509 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  letter,  in  Latin,  was  written  by  Martin  Luther  to  his 
friend  Georgius  Spalatinus,  a  noted  German  Reformer.  It 
is  dated  Wittenberg,  November  8th,  1519. 

Soon  after  taking  holy  orders  and  commencing  to  lecture, 
the  careful  thinking  imposed  by  his  spiritual  obligations, 
gave  birth  to  those  doubts  which  ultimately  crystallized 
and  conflicted  with  the  scholastic  theology  of  his  early  days. 
His  first  point  of  attack  was  the  sale  of  Indulgences,  which 
raised  the  question  of  the  Pope's  supremacy  in  spiritual 
matters.  Luther  thus  became  the  champion  of  the  ortho- 
dox priesthood  which  led  to  his  excommunication  and  the 
opening  of  the  first  Diet  at  Worms  in  January,  1521. 
Though  Luther  suddenly  disappeared,  the  natural  revolt 
against  Rome — the  Lutheran  movement — had  been  organ- 
ized and  was  spreading  rapidly  and  peaceably,  when  inter- 
rupted by  the  Peasants'  War.  This  was  crushed  by  the 
ruling  classes  and  with  Luther's  active  aid — one  of  the  few 
mistakes  of  his  life.  The  natural  movement  then  became 
an  ecclesiastical  one,  splitting  into  three  parts,  of  one  of 
which,  the  Evangelical  churches,  Luther  became  the  leader. 

In  the  course  of  the  conflict,  the  Diet  of  Speyer  (1529) 
deprived  the  Protestant  churches   of   any  share   of  the 

253 


254 


HOW  TO  READ 


U  H,  U        U          H  n 


j-r       <— n        n       n      n 


ttr   -   rtr      trr    rrr 


SLAVONIC  ALPHABET 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          255 

revenues  of  the  Medieval  church,  regarding  which  they  pro- 
tested, thereby  becoming  historically  known  as  Protestants. 
Then  followed  the  conference  of  Luther  with  Zwingli, 
resulting  in  the  cortinued  effort  to  crush  Protestantism, 
the  League  of  Protestant  Princes,  the  retirement  of  Luther, 
the  succession  of  Melanchthon,  and  the  reorganization  of 
the  Evangelical  Church. 

Luther  now  suffered  ill-health,  but  devoted  himself  to  the 
task  of  preventing  the  Roman  Curia  from  regaining  its  grip 
on  his  country.  He  was  assisted  in  this  by  the  Evangelical 
Princes,  which  accounts  for  his  sanctioning  the  bigamy  of 
Philip  of  Hesse.  In  1546  he  went  to  Eisleben.  While  there 
in  a  sermon  he  stated :  1 1  This  and  much  more  is  to  be  said 
about  the  Gospel,  but  I  am  too  weak  and  I  must  close  here." 
This  was  on  February  14th,  he  died  on  the  18th. 

Luther  has  been  accused  of  profligacy  and  intemperance 
in  eating  and  drinking.  It  must  be  admitted  that  he  was 
fond  of  liquor  and  extremely  convivial,  so  much  so  that 
he  has  been  described  as  a  "joyous,  frolicsome  companion." 
It  is  also  true  that  his  conversation,  his  lectures,  even  his 
sermons  often  contained  unsavory  expressions,  and  stories. 

We  must,  however,  bear  in  mind  that  the  standard  of  be- 
havior and  of  morality  in  those  days  was  very  low;  that 
intemperance  was  habitual  and  treated  with  indulgence, 
that  conversation  and  writing  was  frequently  vulgar,  and 
that  other  offences  were  immune  from  condemnation. 

Luther  was,  however,  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  and 
found  his  greatest  happiness  in  his  serene  and  peaceful 
home  which,  with  his  loving  wife,  he  regarded  as  God's  best 
gifts.  Although  an  earnest  exhorter  and  promoter  of  cheer- 
fulness, he  was  himself  subject  to  frequent  fits  of  de- 
pression and  melancholy.  He  nevertheless  devoted  him- 


256         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

self  to  the  enormous  labors  of  his  life  with  great  fervor, 
unremitting  attention  and  courage,  and  with  such  indiffer- 
ence to  personal  sacrifice  as  to  indicate  a  striking  and  fear- 
less personality. 


TORQUATO  TASSO 

A.D.  1588 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  reproduction  is  from  a  volume  entitled,  "Toris- 
mondo,  Tragedia  del  Signor  Torquato."  It  is  an  autograph 
copy  in  a  vellum  binding. 

Tasso  was,  indeed,  an  " infant  prodigy."  He  was  born 
in  1544 — in  1552  he  was  attending  a  school  kept  by  the 
Jesuits  at  Naples,  where  his  precocious  intellect  and  re- 
ligious fervor  attracted  attention  and  admiration.  At  this 
age — 8  years — he  was  already  famous;  He  became  a 
handsome  and  brilliant  young  man  with  a  most  auspicious 
start  in  life.  Success  and  happiness  seemed  certain,  but 
they  never  came.  In  their  stead  he  found  only  disappoint- 
ment, ill-health,  insanity  and  premature  death. 

It  is  true  that  for  a  short  time — from  1565  to  1570 — he 
enjoyed  the  only  happy  period  of  his  existence.  He  was 
then,  young,  handsome,  accomplished,  accustomed  to  the 
society  of  the  great  and  learned,  illustrious  by  his  published 
works  in  verse  and  prose  and  he  had  become  the  idol  of  the 
most  brilliant  Court  in  Italy — the  Court  of  Cardinal  Luigi 
d'Este,  destined  to  be  for  him  the  scene  of  a  short-lived 
happiness  and  of  much  suffering.  It  was  there  that  he 
became  on  terms  of  familiar  association  with  the  Princesses 
Lucrezia  and  Leonora  d'Este,  with  the  latter  of  whom  there 

257 


258  CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          259 

was  the  old,  old  story  of  love.  Both  sisters  however  un- 
doubtedly wielded  great  influence  in  the  promotion  of  his 
interests,  and  it  is  therefore  a  matter  of  regret  that  he 
should  have  allowed  a  certain  tactless  freedom  of  speech 
to  betray  him  into  a  difference  with  his  patron. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  produced  his  "Aminta"  and 
completed  his  "Gerusalemme  Liberata."  He  was  only 
about  31  years  old,  but  it  appears  that  his  most  excellent 
work  had  been  given  to  the  world  and  with  it  went  his  last 
days  of  sunshine  and  good  fortune.  It  would  seem  as  if 
some  malign  influence  led  him  into  error  from  which  his 
judgment  should  have  recoiled.  He  actually  sent  manu- 
script— copies  of  his  famous  poem  to  a  number  of  literary 
notables  for  the  purpose  of  securing  their  criticism  and 
suggestions,  which  he  expressed  his  willingness  to  follow 
if  they  should  differ  from  him.  Of  course  they  differed  and 
he  unfortunately  played  directly  into  their  hands.  Instead 
of  publishing  his  poem  as  he  had  conceived  it ;  instead  of 
launching  it  upon  the  world  with  the  touch  of  his  genius 
upon  it,  he  deliberately  sacrificed  himself  to  the  critical 
theories  of  others.  From  this  time  his  troubles  began. 
His  poem  was  laid  aside.  His  health  began  to  fail,  his  mind 
yielded  to  delusions  and  he  was  in  constant  fear  of  being 
denounced  by  the  Inquisition  and  of  being  poisoned.  In 
fact  Tasso — if  not  actually  insane — was  now  so  far  men- 
tally deranged  that  he  was  of  no  service  to  himself  and 
was  a  burden  to  his  friends.  Nevertheless,  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  with  whom  he  had  quarreled,  invited  him  to  return 
to  his  court  provided  he  would  consent  to  a  course  of  medi- 
cal treatment  for  his  malady.  Tasso  accepted  this  friendly 
welcome  and  at  first  improved  but  his  malady  reappeared 
and  he  again  went  away  and  after  wandering  hither  and 


260 

thither,  he  was  finally  sent  to  a  lunatic  asylum  at  St.  Anna. 
During  his  confinement  he  composed  numerous  philosophi- 
cal and  ethical  dialogues,  but  little  poetry.  Part  of  his 
' ' Gerusalemme "  was  also  published;  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  whole  poem.  In  six  months  seven  editions  of  it 
were  issued. 

Tasso  was,  at  the  intercession  of  Vincenzo  Genzaga,  Duke 
of  Mantua,  allowed  to  leave  St.  Anna  in  1586,  but  he  soon 
after  went  away  to  Rome  feeling  himself  neglected  by  the 
Duke  and  thence  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Mantua,  where 
he  wrote  "Torrismondo." 

Then  he  went  to  Naples,  where  he  wrote  his  "Geru- 
salemme Conquistata"  in  which  he  reconstructed  his  pre- 
vious poem,  depriving  it  of  its  chivalrous  and  mystical 
elements.  Posterity  has  however  reversed  his  decision,  and 
his  fame  now  rests  securely  on  the  work  of  his  early  life. 
He  died  at  Rome  shortly  after  the  laurel  crown  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  the  Pope. 


GALILEO  GALILEI 

DATE  1609 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

PART  of  a  letter  from  Galileo  Galilei  to  Michelangniolo 
Buonarroti  the  younger,  nephew  of  the  painter.  Galileo 
was  occupying  the  chair  of  Mathematics  of  the  University 
of  Padua,  when  he  wrote  this  letter.  It  is  dated,  Padua, 
December  4th,  1609. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  an  attack  of  opthalmia,  the  world's 
list  of  remarkable  astronomers  would  have  been  seriously 
curtailed  and  the  Roman  hierarchy  correspondingly  en- 
riched. Galileo  was  making  rapid  and  brilliant  progress 
in  his  studies  at  the  Florentine  monastery  of  Vallombrosa, 
when  he  suddenly  manifested  a  strong  inclination  for 
religious  life  and  actually  joined  the  novitiate,  which  con- 
flicted so  much  with  his  father's  plans  for  his  son's  career, 
that  the  former  turned  to  account  a  somewhat  severe  in- 
flammation of  the  eyes,  as  a  reason  for  withdrawing  Galileo 
from  the  monastery  and  entering  him  at  the  University  of 
Pisa,  when  he  was  only  18  years  old.  Here  he  displayed 
the  same  phenomenal  talents ; — a  versatility,  a  natural  apti- 
tude in  various  intellectual  directions — that  undoubtedly 
would  have  brought  him  to  the  forefront  in  painting,  music, 
invention,  or  any  other  of  the  arts  or  sciences. 

Again  accident  interposes,  makes  Galileo  an  unpremedi- 
tated listener  at  a  court  lecture  which  causes  him  to  aban- 

261 


262          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


V 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          263 

don  the  pursuit  of  medicine,  for  which  his  father  had  des- 
tined him,  and  follow  the  calling  of  Euclid  and  Archimedes. 

From  this  moment  his  progress  is  one  of  uninterrupted 
success,  so  that  within  three  years  after  leaving  the  univer- 
sity he  writes  a  treatise  on  the  "Center  of  Gravity  in 
Solids/'  which  brings  him  the  appointment  of  lecturer  on 
mathematics  at  the  university  and  the  title  and  reputation 
of  ''The  Archimedes  of  his  time." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  period  the  Copernican 
theory  of  the  solar  system  was  not  popular ;  but  this  did  not 
deter  Galileo  from  adopting  it,  though  he  refrained  from 
publicly  declaring  the  fact.  From  this  restraint  he  was, 
however,  soon  relieved  by  the  invention  of  the  telescope 
which  was  really  due  to  the  genius  of  Johannes  Lippershey, 
an  optician  of  Middleburg. 

Its  employment  in  the  study  of  the  heavens,  and  in  the 
dissipation  of  many  hitherto  well-established  theories  in 
astronomy,  reinforced  by  Galileo's  courage  of  conviction, 
brought  to  a  head,  as  a  question  of  open  and  deliberate  dis- 
cussion, the  long  suspected  conflict  between  the  new  theories 
of  our  solar  system  and  Scripture  that  had  up  to  this 
moment  been  only  hinted  at  and  carefully  avoided. 

Galileo,  however,  was  not  to  be  silenced.  And  so  he 
boldly  went  to  Rome  and  with  his  wonted  enthusiasm  and 
eloquence  presented  his  views  to  the  pontificial  court. 

Its  theologians  rejected  them,  declaring  his  statement; 
that  the  earth  revolved  around  the  sun  as  an  immovable 
center  to  be  "absurd  in  philosophy  and  formally  heretical" 
because  expressly  contrary  to  Scripture,  and  his  claim  that 
the  earth  revolved  daily  on  its  own  axis,  to  be  "open  to 
the  same  censure  in  philosophy  and  at  least  erroneous  as 
to  faith." 


264          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

By  papal  decree  Galileo  was  enjoined  not  "to  hold,  teach 
or  defend  the  condemned  doctrines  " ;  to  which  he  promised 
obedience,  but  he  took  with  him  from  Rome  a  written  cer- 
tificate to  the  effect  that  "no  abjuration  had  been  required 
of,  or  penance  imposed  upon  him,"  which  induced  him  to 
believe  that  the  papal  decree  of  1616  would  be  revoked,  or 
at  least  ignored.  It  was  therefore  with  no  apprehension  or 
fear  as  to  his  future  that  he  wrote  and  published  his 
famous,  but  ill-fated  work,  the  Dialogo  dei  due  massimi 
sistemi  del  mondo.  It  was  received  with  universal  praise, 
throughout  Europe  and  with  good  reason,  for  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  work  that  could  pretend  to  be  its  rival  in 
respect  of  "animation  and  elegance  of  style  combined  with 
strength  and  clearness  of  scientific  exposition."  This  only 
added  to  its  offence,  for  it  was  an  undisguised,  forcible  and 
persistent  reassertion  of  Copernican  principles,  and  as 
such,  a  flagrant  flouting  of  the  papal  decree  of  1616  and  a 
violation  of  Galileo's  pledge  of  conformity.  Of  course  its 
sale  was  immediately  forbidden  and  Galileo  was  summoned 
to  appear  at  Rome  by  the  Inquisition  when  he  was  con- 
demned as  "vehemently  suspected  of  heresy,"  and  sen- 
tenced to  imprisonment.  The  sum  and  substance  of  Gali- 
leo's astronomical  work  consisted  in  aiding  to  establish 
mechanics  as  a  science,  and  this  consisted  in  his  being  the 
first  to  "grasp  the  idea  of  force  as  a  mechanical  agent  and 
to  apply  to  the  physical  world  the  principle  of  the  invaria- 
bility of  the  relation  between  cause  and  effect. ' ' 


BEN  JONSON 

DATE  1609 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  part  of  a  manuscript  by  Ben  Jonson  entitled: 
1  'The  Masque  of  Queenes,  cerebrated  from  the  House  of 
Fame  by  the  most  absolute  in  all  States  and  titles,  Anne, 
Queene  of  Great  Britayne,  etc.,  with  her  honorable  ladyes, 
at  White  Hall,  Feb.  2,  1609." 

Ben  Jonson  is  best  remembered  by  his  play  Every  Man 
in  his  Humor  and  he  still  lives  in  his  Conversations,  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  the  hospitality  of  the  great  Scot- 
tish poet,  William  Drummond  of  Hawthornden,  who  enter- 
tained Jonson  during  his  visit  to  Scotland  in  1618  of  which 
visit  Conversations  is  a  record.  The  host  had  here  an 
ample  opportunity  of  studying  his  guest's  character,  and 
he  tells  us  that  he  was  "a  great  lover  and  praiser  of  him- 
self; a  contemner  and  scorner  of  others." 

Further  confirmation  of  this  leading  feature  of  Jonson 's 
character  is  furnished  by  Howell,  who  states  that  during  a 
supper  at  the  poet's  house  where  the  host  had  almost 
spoiled  the  relish  of  the  feast  by  vilifying  others  and  mag- 
nifying himself,  Thomas  Carew  buzzed  in  the  writer's  ear 
that  ''though  Ben  had  barreled  up  a  great  deal  of  knowl- 
edge, yet  it  seemed  he  had  not  read  the  Ethics,  which  among 
other  precepts  of  morality,  forbid  self-commendation." 

265 


266 


HOW  TO  READ 


IJ 

^  n 


J 

*>> 

H=. 


•*> 

dl 


<J 


I 

I 


267 

Combativeness,  invariably  found  co-existing  with  self- 
conceit,  was  Jonson's  most  salient  characteristic.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  his  early  life  was  an  unbroken  succession  of 
quarrels.  This  pugnacity  was  of  course  but  too  well  cal- 
culated to  irritate  such  a  gentle  and  peaceful  temperament 
as  Drummond's,  and  to  provoke  a  quiet  expression  of  his 
dissatisfaction.  Happily  this  habitual  self-abandonment  to 
the  indulgence  of  prejudices  acted  as  a  safety-valve,  so  that 
there  was  no  residue  of  bitterness,  still  less  of  malice  in 
Jonson. 

It  is  therefore  not  strange  that  he  was  very  anxious  to 
be  esteemed  for  his  honesty,  and  that  he  well  deserved  this 
reputation — both  quite  consistent  with  his  ever-present 
self-consciousness  and  sense  of  excellence  over  others. 

It  is  also  claimed  on  Jonson's  behalf  that  he  was  impar- 
tial in  his  opinions,  which  hardly  coincides  with  his  strong 
disposition  for  likes  and  dislikes.  He  was  however  proof 
against  flattery,  which  again  may  be  received  as  evidence  of 
excellence  and  no  doubt  accounts  for  his  utter  indifference 
to,  if  not  contempt  of,  public  opinion  which  he  certainly  was 
at  no  pains  to  cultivate  or  consult.  This  independence 
makes  him  stand  out  prominently  among  the  master- 
writers  of  his  age. 

His  literary  style  was  classical,  in  which  polish  and  sim- 
plicity predominated. 

His  grave  is  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  on  his  monu- 
ment England  tersely  expresses  its  judgment  of  him  in 
the  inscription : 

0  Rare  Ben  Jonson. 


268 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


3        * 

IJ 

/ 

>* 

7  J 

1 

'3    \ 

v« 

*    ^ 

y 

L* 

^ 

*1 

**4 

j 

^3 

\T 

s> 

•x\ 

I  •: 
j^^ 

f 

1 

BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  part  of  a  Notary's  Certificate  concerning  the  dis- 
position of  the  goods  of  Franchise  Rouseau  and  signed  by 
Moliere  and  others.  Dated  January  25th,  1664,  in  which 
year  the  celebrated  comedian  was  44  years  old. 

Moliere  was  not  the  first  nor  the  only  one  among  promi- 
nent censors  of  public  morals  to  pay  the  inevitable  penalty 
of  gibbeting  the  social  infirmities  of  his  day.  Especially 
was  this  the  case  when  his  success  as  the  first  true  comic 
satirist  of  contemporary  foibles  was  immediate  and  im- 
mense with  the  production  of  his  "Les  Precieuses  Ridi- 
cules," November  18,  1659,  and  by  his  "Le  Festin  de 
Pierre,"  February  15,  1665.  The  nature  of  the  calumnies 
with  which  his  critics  and  other  enemies  assailed  him,  amply 
attest  the  effectiveness  of  his  satire.  He  was  accused  of 
marrying  his  own  daughter  and  of  insulting  the  King, 
offending  the  Queen-mother  and  corrupting  virtue — 
charges,  that,  independently  of  the  disproof  of  direct  testi- 
mony, were  disposed  of  finally  by  the  King's  acting  as  god- 
father to  his  child  and  the  King's  adoption  of  Moliere 's 
company  as  his  servants  and  pensioning  them. 

Further  confirmation  of  his  personal  worth  is  contributed 
by  his  actors,  who  indignantly  repelled  the  effort  of  certain 
older  companies  to  entice  them  away  from  him.  They  de- 
clared that  they  would  always  share  his  fortunes.  It  is 

269 


270         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

true  that  when  this  occurred,  Moliere 's  successful  career 
and  position  were  already  well  assured,  but  this  was  rein- 
forced by  his  rare  genius,  the  charm  of  endearing  manners, 
high  sense  of  honor  and  nobility  of  character.  Hence,  as 
La  Grange,  his  friend  and  comrade  tells  us,  his  company 
"sincerely  loved  him",  while  he  enjoyed  the  patronage  of 
a  great  prince. 

"Le  Misanthrope"  has  been  considered  his  masterpiece. 
True  it  is  that  it  was  not  popular  nor  as  well  received  by 
the  public  as  by  the  critics  but  the  reason  is  obvious.  It 
was,  at  that  time,  something  new  and  even  offensive  for  a 
playwright  to  substitute  the  real  refinement  of  a  real  civi- 
lization for  the  mock  refinement  of  a  false  civilization  and 
to  "subject  to  its  influence  the  eternal  passions  and  senti- 
ments of  human  nature".  This  Moliere  did;  and  was  there- 
fore more  successful  with  the  critics  than  with  the  public. 
In  our  day  the  case  would  be  reversed. 

Moliere 's  death  furnished  a  striking  coincidence.  While 
playing  the  title  role  in  his  "Malade  Imaginaire",  he  burst 
a  blood-vessel  in  a  fit  of  coughing  and  died  within  an  hour 
after. 

A  profound  detestation  of  hypocrisy  is  perhaps  the  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  Moliere 's  character,  while  scrupulous 
honor  and  refinement  run  a  close  second  place,  followed  by 
great  generosity  and  gentleness. 

He  has  been  pronounced  the  greatest  of  all  social  comedy 
writers ;  as  ranking  among  the  foremost  in  the  literature  of 
France,  and  next  to  Shakespeare  in  modern  drama.  He 
was  denied  all  priestly  ministration  in  his  last  moments 
and  buried  without  any  religious  ceremony,  without  even 
a  stone  to  mark  his  resting-place. 

"Unknown  is  the  grave  of  Moliere." 


SIR  ISAAC  NEWTON 

DATE  1682 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

PART  of  a  letter  from  Sir  Isaac  Newton  to  Dr.  William 
Briggs  commenting  on  his  "Theory  of  Vision".  Dated 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  June  20,  1682. 

Newton's  achievements  were  those  of  a  purely  philoso- 
phic genius.  His  was  not  the  inventive  faculty  nor  the 
intuitive  perception  of  the  poet,  but  the  incessant,  patient 
and  persevering  study  and  labor  of  the  philosopher.  His 
mental  qualities  therefore  must  not  be  determined  by  the 
early  period  of  life  at  which  he  plucked  Nature's  secrets 
from  her  repository,  nor  by  the  rapid  succession  of  his 
discoveries. 

The  world  has  consequently  felt  itself  secure  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  scientific  revelations ;  for  in  these  are  rooted 
an  unparalleled  industry  and  perseverance  that  have  filled 
the  human  mind  with  a  corresponding  confidence  and  faith. 

Newton  was  highly  favored  at  birth  with  a  rare  and  in- 
fallible combination:  the  faculty  of  lucid  simplicity  and 
simple  lucidity  of  statement  combined  with  speculative  pro- 
fundity, which  is  not  only  confined  to  his  purely  scientific 
writings  but  also  beautifies  and  adorns  even  his  theologi- 
cal treaties. 

Naturally  enough  then  we  find  observation  and  experi- 
ment playing  an  important  part  in  Newton's  method  of 
investigation,  so  much  so,  that  certain  over-enthusiastic 

271 


272 


HOW  TO  READ 


v?iy  ^ 

*$  -4      J  i  ^ 

».\V1    i^4v 

3  rN;^ 

A    NJ  i  > 

^l^-S 

^  _» 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          273 

worshipers  at  Bacon's  shrine  have  ascribed  Newton's  dis- 
coveries to  the  application  of  the  Baconian  method  of  in- 
duction, but,  truth  to  tell,  inductive  research  was  employed 
by  many  distinguished  predecessors  of  Bacon  in  the  philo- 
sophic field.  Newton  therefore  merely  followed  in  the  wake 
of  Masters,  whose  example  was  also  adopted  and  recom- 
mended in  the  No  rum  Organon. 

Newton  might  have  cultivated  with  success  and  credit 
some  of  those  eccentricities  which  are  believed  by  not  a  few, 
to  indicate  genius,  but  his  intellectual  endowments,  his 
modesty  and  his  philosophic  sincerity  and  dignity  forbade 
this;  in  fact  made  it  impossible.  He  was  always  "modest, 
candid  and  affable,  suiting  himself  to  every  company  and 
speaking  of  himself  and  others  in  such  a  manner  that  he 
was  never  even  suspected  of  vanity." 

The  key  to  Newton's  character  as  a  man  and  as  a  philoso- 
pher is  furnished  by  those  memorable  words  uttered  by  him 
a  short  time  before  his  death:  "I  do  not  know  what  I  may 
appear  to  the  world,  but  to  myself  I  seem  to  have  been  only 
like  a  boy  playing  on  the  seashore,  diverting  myself  in  now 
and  then  finding  a  smoother  pebble  or  a  prettier  shell  than 
ordinary,  whilst  the  great  ocean  of  truth  lay  all  undiscov- 
ered before  me." 


274 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


••<*•£•.>••< 

5s.     «i   ***.     ^4 


JOSEPH  ADDISON 

DATE  1699 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

PART  of  a  letter  from  Joseph  Addison  to  Charles  Mon- 
tagu, Earl  of  Halifax,  written  while  he  was  on  the  Conti- 
.nent.  Dated,  Paris,  October  14, 1699. 

Addison  is  one  of  the  few  men  of  letters  of  the  Eight- 
eenth Century  who  faithfully  reflect  the  spirit  of  their  day. 
It  is  therefore  unfortunate  that  he  furnishes  such  limited 
materials  for  biography. 

Johnson,  Steele  and  Pope  are  amply  provided  for  in  this 
regard,  but  of  Addison  hardly  any  record  can  be  found  that 
gives  any  account  of  his  life  and  character.  The  only  con- 
temporary source  of  interest  that  is  open  to  us  is  Pope — 
Addison 's  enemy — who  is  not  remarkable  for  a  scrupulous 
regard  for  truth  when  wielding  his  trenchant  satiric  pen  to 
describe  an  opponent  or  a  foe.  Addison 's  own  writings 
afford  no  help;  his  letters  and  his  masterpiece — the  Spec- 
tator— are  highly  polished  formal  dissertations;  they  do 
not  touch  or  concern  the  author  in  his  early  life,  conduct 
or  intercourse.  Such  light  as  is  shed  upon  him,  reveals 
a  man  that  commanded  the  respect  and  admiration  of  his 
contemporaries,  notwithstanding:  the  fact  that  he  was  natu- 
rally very  shy  and  reserved  in  his  demeanor. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  chief  among  these  contempo- 

275 


276  HOW  TO  READ 

raries  were  such  men  as  Steele,  Swift,  Pope — all  of  whom 
have  "left  their  mark"  upon  their  age  and  were  altogether 
unlikely  to  have  respected  and  admired  any  one  unless  he 
at  least  had  attained  the  same  level  of  excellence  as  they 
had  in  all  essentials  of  mind  and  energy  of  character. 

It  is,  however,  doubtful  if  Addison  could  have  accom- 
plished the  great  wo'rk  that  distinguished  his  life  from  that 
of  the  shining  lights  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  if  he  had 
been  compelled  to  rely  merely  upon  elegance  and  refinement 
as  a  writer,  upon  his  intellectual  power  to  fascinate  other 
intellects  that  were  "haughty  and  cynical."  Addison 's 
great  achievement  consisted  in  his  having  been  the  "Chief 
Architect  of  public  opinion  in  the  Eighteenth  Century" 
a  public  opinion  which  "in  spite  of  its  durable  solidity, 
seems  like  the  great  Gothic  Cathedrals,  to  absorb  into  itself 
the  individuality  of  the  architect."  The  task  was  a  great 
one.  The  recent  Civil  Wars  had  overthrown  constituted 
authority,  Episcopalianism  had  been  supplanted  by  Pres- 
hyterianism  and  the  whole  population  had  been  torn  and 
riven  asunder  by  Civil  War.  It  was  these,  which  are  only 
a  summary  of  the  apparently  unsurmountable  difficulties 
under  which  Addison,  with  the  instrumentality  of  the  Spec- 
tator, restored  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  conflict,  in  matters, 
religious,  moral  and  artistic,  which  prevailed  in  the  period 
between  the  Restoration  and  the  succession  of  the  House 
of  Hanover.  The  individuality  of  the  man  who  accom- 
plished this  must  have  been  indeed  great,  since  it  pre- 
dominated so  largely  as  to  almost  completely  obscure  his 
other  characteristics. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


277 


EXTRACTS  IN  PERSIAN  AND  ARABIC 

FROM  THE  KORAN 

1734  A.D. 

A  BEAUTIFULLY  illuminated  manuscript  of  extracts  from 
Persian  and  Arabic  authors,  quoting  the  Koran.  The  first 
line  reads :  "Wealth  does  not  escape  the  hands  of  an  experi- 
enced man."  There  are  no  capital  letters  in  Arabic  and 
nothing  marks  the  beginning  of  a  sentence  as  in  English. 


278 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


279 


FRANCOIS  MARIE  ARONET  DE  VOLTAIRE 

DATE  1760 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

PART  of  a  letter  in  English  from  Voltaire  to  George 
Keats,  F.R.S.,  in  which  he  expresses  his  admiration  for  the 
freedom  of  living  in  England.  Dated,  January  16,  1760. 

Nothing  so  adequately  measures  the  genius,  the  mental 
energy,  the  all-inclusive  universal  intellectuality,  the  fear- 
less intrepidity  and  earnestness,  the  telling  force  of  Vol- 
taire's assaults  upon  the  ''persecuting  and  the  privileged 
orthodoxy"  of  his  time,  as  the  virulence,  variety,  bitter- 
ness and  malice  of  his  critics.  Foremost  among  them  were 
the  orthodox  sectarians,  who  described  him  as  "hell- 
sprung";  as  the  embodiment  of  "Satan,  sin  and  death." 
Next  we  see  him  attacked  by  the  inevitable  type  of  censor, 
the  man  so  utterly  encased  in  the  impenetrable  armor  of 
self-conceit,  of  fancied  self-superiority,  as  to  be  prejudiced 
beyond  conceding  the  possibility  of  fallibility  in  himself  or 
merit  in  others — in  whose  opinion — infallible  of  course,  Vol- 
taire and  Rousseau  were  so  equal  in  crime  that  "it  would 
be  difficult  to  proportion  the  inequality  between  them." 
The  evil  that  such  a  critic  does  is  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  to  which  he  discredits,  in  the  opinion  of  the  average 
man,  such  genuine  and  effective  social  reformers  as 
Voltaire. 

380 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          281 

The  principal  charge  then,  the  charge  in  fact  which  in- 
cludes all  those  others  that  are  laid  at  Voltaire's  door- 
infidelity.  This  proceeds  from  either  ignorance  and  in- 
tolerance or  religious  prejudice.  True  that  Voltaire  at- 
tacked with  bitter  and  crushing  force,  the  popular  beliefs  of 
his  day,  but  this  is  quite  a  different  matter  from  attacking 
religion,  which  he  always  respected.  It  was  not  religion 
nor  even  the  church — as  such — that  Voltaire  inveighed 
against.  He  rather  sought  to  destroy  tyranny  and  the 
superstition  that  disgraced  the  church,  and  indeed  this  evil 
was  incorporated  in  the  corrupt  and  monstrous  system  that 
prevailed  everywhere,  a  system  all  the  more  dangerous  be- 
cause rooted  in  the  conventional  orthodoxy  that  was  all 
powerful  in  his  day  and  crushed  under  its  iron  heel  all 
opposition  to  its  tyranny  and  oppression.  It  was  this  mon- 
ster— not  God,  not  Christ,  not  Christianity — that  he  de- 
scribed in  the  phrase  that  recurs  constantly  throughout  all 
his  works — even  in  his  private  letters — ecrasez  1'in fame — 
"Crush  persecuting  and  privileged  orthodoxy,"  but  Vol- 
taire's own  recorded  words  utterly  refute  the  accusation  of 
infidelity.  For  example — "I  believe  in  God,"  in  that  be- 
lief, "one  finds  difficulties."  "In  the  belief  that  there  is 
no  God,  absurdities."  "The  wise  man  attributes  to  God 
no  human  affections.  He  recognizes  a  power,  necessary, 
eternal,  which  animates  all  Nature." 

Intellectually  considered,  Voltaire  stands  well-nigh  alone. 
There  is  no  department  of  literary  work  that  he  did  not 
touch  not  only  to  adorn  but  to  make  it  breathe  forth  his  own 
living  originality. 

But  after  all,  more  important  than  anything  that  Vol- 
taire ever  thought  or  wrote — no  matter  how  excellent — was 
what  he  did.  His  true  title  to  fame,  to  the  remembrance  and 


282          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

gratitude  not  only  of  his  country  but  of  the  world,  is,  that 
he  was  chief  among  those  who  helped  to  earn  freedom  for 
man — a  freedom  to  think,  to  speak,  to  act,  according  to  the 
dictates  of  conscience;  a  freedom  that  imposes  no  limit  or 
restrictions  other  than  those  of  protecting  and  assuring  to 
our  neighbor  his  rights,  and  of  worshiping  God  as  he  wills. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

DATE  1784 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  LETTER  from  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  ambassador  to 
France,  to  Captain  and  Commodore  Paul  Jones,  about  a 
settlement  of  expenses  incurred  in  Holland.  Dated,  Passy, 
March  23,  1784. 

If  we  wish  to  put  our  finger  accurately,  as  it  were,  upon 
the  feature  which  over  and  above  all  others  sums  up  the 
many  sidedness  of  Franklin's  character,  we  may  well  adopt 
the  viewpoint  of  "friend  and  benefactor  to  the  human 
race." 

When  we  bear  in  mind  that  Franklin's  life  was  lived  from 
first  to  last  in  the  limelight  of  the  world ;  that  his  own  and 
subsequent  generation  have  with  cordial  unanimity  given 
him  an  abiding  home  in  their  hearts,  which  regard  increases 
as  time  goes  on,  we  can  hardly  fail  to  be  convinced  that, 
great  man  as  he  was,  goodness,  even  grandeur,  of  soul,  pre- 
dominated. A  clear  idea  of  his  spiritual  excellence  is  af- 
forded by  the  fact  that  although  surrounded  by  intolerant 
religious  sects  who  bitterly  attacked  each  other,  he  yet  lived 
at  peace  and  even  in  friendship  with  them  all.  He  could 
have  done  this  only  by  virtue  of  a  soul  that  recognized  in 
every  fellow  creature,  the  presence  of  the  same  Eternal 
Principle  in  spite  of  opinions  and  beliefs,  even  of  human 

283 


284 


HOW  TO  READ 


^\ 


~S&     ^o-o-eS 


&><*4r<,  c/tfxrx 


*~s 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING  285 

frailties  and  errors.  His  was  in  fact  that  godlike  tolerance 
of  the  spirit  of  Christ  which  enabled  him  to  spread  good 
wherever  he  went  among  his  fellow  men  while  at  the  same 
time  he  served  them  in  public  life  with  unremitting  energy, 
and  distinction. 

This  unparalleled  human  tolerance  was  emphasized  by  an 
utter  absence  of  vanity — by  a  simplicity  and  modesty  that 
distinguished  him  even  after  success  and  public  honors  had 
crowded  thick  upon  him.  It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to 
find  another  man  in  whom  self-love  was  so  completely 
repressed. 

Of  course,  Franklin  had  faults ;  he  was  only  human  after 
all,  but  these  faults  were,  at  their  worst,  essentially  super- 
ficial, and  so  habitually  indulged  in  his  day  that  they  hardly 
created  a  ripple  on  the  moral  surface.  These  were  groSsness 
and  vulgarity.  The  severest  blame  perhaps  which  has  been 
visited  upon  Franklin  is  obviously  inseparable  from  that 
narrowness,  bigotry  and  intolerance  which,  in  matters  of 
religion  or  forms  of  faith,  can  see  no  difference  between 
impiety  and  philosophic  tolerance.  It  was  the  latter,  and 
the  latter  only  that  explains  Franklin's  criticism  that  the 
"  popular  belief  in  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  a  beneficial 
error."  Consistently  with  this  philosophic  indifference  to 
orthodox  intolerance,  we  find  in  him  independence  of 
thought,  and  social  and  political  liberality.  He  was  also 
plentifully  endowed  with  strong  common  sense,  a  wonder- 
ful talent  of  homely  ridicule  of  vice  and  prejudices,  and  a 
devotion  to  the  practical  and  the  useful  in  preference  to 
the  purely  ornamental  and  superficial. 

Domestic  purity  and  affection,  cheerfulness,  plentiful 
humor  and  wit,  conversational  charm,  philanthropy, 
scrupulous  honesty,  firm  faith  in  a  Divine  omniscience  and 


286          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

omnipotence  and  in  man's  immortality — all  these  round  out 
a  fulness  of  character  in  which  the  owner  plainly  declared 
his  life's  purpose  to  " dedicate  himself  to  virtue  and  the 
public  good." 


ROBEET  BURNS 

DATE  1787 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  LETTEK  from  Robert  Burns  to  Dr.  John  Moore  telling 
about  his  own  life,  dated  Mauchline,  August  2,  1787. 

All  writers  reveal  themselves  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
in  their  works,  but  Burns  has  so  minutely,  so  completely 
unfolded  his  inner  self — the  real  man — in  his  writings,  that 
in  them,  we  seem  to  have  ever  present  the  living,  breathing 
author.  He  may,  indeed,  be  said  to  "live,  move  and  have 
his  being"  in  his  thoughts,  creations  and  expressions,  which 
are  poured  forth  with  such  simple  sincerity,  such  unself- 
consciousness,  such  obvious  anxiety  to  declare  and  estab- 
lish the  truth,  that  he  succeeds,  as  it  were,  in  "wearing  his 
heart  upon  his  sleeve."  Spontaneity,  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity lie  therefore  on  the  surface  of  Burns'  character. 

With  whatever  qualities  were  necessary  to  constitute  a 
great  lyric  poet,  he  was  most  richly  endowed.  He  was 
aglow  with  a  poetic  fervor  that  made  luminous  every  feel- 
ing, every  sentiment,  every  experience,  everything  in  fine 
that  was  human.  He  was  warm-hearted  but  at  the  same 
time  saved  from  sentimentality  by  a  robust  manliness, 
which  was  most  harmoniously  blended  with  the  most  deli- 
cate sensibility  to  beauty — not  alone  the  beauty  of  the 
female  form  divine,  but  of  nature  in  all  her  moods  and 

287 


288 


\       *    ^  v*  ^ 

^k^wf    1^ 

V-liJ^M^ 


«"T^  j?<5' 

rf  ep 

t^. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          289 

aspects.  She  was  as  dear  to  him  as  the  ''ruddy  drops  that 
sometimes  visited  his  sad  heart."  Not  only  woman's  tear- 
ful eye,  or  melting  voice,  but  the  sufferings  of  the  dumb, 
silent,  specimens  of  God's  creative  skill  came  in  for  a  share 
of  the  "common-blooded  affinity  of  his  rich  human  heart." 

Burns  possessed  the  strong  common-sense,  the  physical 
and  mental  robustness  of  his  countrymen,  and  as  a  result 
he  was  "strong  in  thought  and  intense  in  emotion."  His 
was  not  the  idealistic  or  contemplative  quality  of  poetic 
temperament,  nor  could  he  boast — he  certainly  never  even 
claimed  for  himself — scholarship.  He  was,  however,  skilled 
in  the  rapid  reading  of  human  thought  and  character;  in 
penetrating  to  the  innermost  recesses  of  secret,  hidden 
motives  and  sagacious  and  shrewd  in  judgment  of  conduct. 

Patriotism  is  also  one  of  Burns'  virtues,  and  no  doubt 
intended  to  endear  him  to  his  countrymen  at  a  time  when, 
as  Carlyle  informs  us,  this  quality  was  very  much  at  a  dis- 
count in  the  literary  world  of  Scotland. 

Burns  shared  very  largely  with  Goethe  what  has  been 
termed  "a  great  zest  of  life,"  which  naturally  accounts  fo:: 
his  social  success — "the  universal  charm  of  his  social  inter- 
course." 

The  rock  upon  which  Burns  split  was  the  indulgence  of 
his  impetuous  passions  and  "jovial  compotations  in  the 
Globe  tavern  at  Dumfries,"  but  above  all  .things,  he  pos- 
sessed great  honor  and  nobility  of  character.  As  he  himself 
says  in  one  of  his  letters — "My  beloved  household  Gods 
are  independence  of  spirit  and  integrity  of  soul,"  confirm- 
ing which  Carlyle  remarks,  "Many  poets  have  been  poorer 
than  Burns ;  no  one  was  ever  prouder. ' ' 


290 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


3 


FRIEDRICH  VON  SCHILLEE 
DATE  1802 


PART  of  a  letter  from  Schiller  to  Karl  Theodor  Koerner, 
one  of  his  warmest  friends  and  confidants.  Dated  Weimar, 
July  5, 1802. 

The  literary  reputation  which  Schiller  enjoys  is  almost 
entirely  due  to  the  standard  that  Germany  adopts  in  deter- 
mining the  merit  and  rank  of  her  men  of  letters.  She  does 
not  estimate  them  according  to  the  general  extent  of  their 
influence  upon  the  domain  of  literature,  but  according  to 
the  degree  in  which  they  have  incorporated  themselves  with 
and  molded  the  literary  life  of  the  German  people. 

Judged  by  this  standard  Schiller  undoubtedly  well  de- 
serves his  fame  and  name  as  a  poet,  historian  and  drama- 
tist. When  we  give  due  weight  to  the  unlimited  extollation 
which  he  received  from  his  countrymen,  we  have  an  ade- 
quate explanation  of  his  popularity. 

Schiller  was  blessed  with  a  noble,  dignified  presence,  with 
which  his  devotion  to  truth,  beauty  and  freedom  harmonized 
completely.  He  was  also  a  model  of  the  domestic  virtues, 
a  fond  husband  and  father,  and  a  firm  and  loyal  friend. 
Another  element  that  contributed  very  largely  to  his  popu- 
larity, was  his  cheerfulness  and  hopefulness  in  spite  of 
suffering  and  poverty,  and  what  may  be  called  his  artistic 
conscientiousness  which  despised  mercenary  motives. 

291 


292          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

Regarding  Schiller,  we  have  extravagant  eulogies  from 
Madame  de  Stael  and  from  Goethe.  The  former  praises 
his  virtues  which  were  "as  admirable  as  his  talents,"  and 
his  conscience  which  was  his  "muse."  Goethe  in  his  Epi- 
logue, confirms  and  reinforces  this  eulogy  which  unwit- 
tingly led  to  a  war  of  words  as  to  the  respective  genius 
and  accomplishments  of  Schiller  and  of  Goethe  himself. 

It  happened,  therefore,  that  Schiller  was  doubtless 
exalted  somewhat  above  his  natural  and  just  deserts  and, 
indeed,  almost  canonized  as  a  saint.  If  we*  exclude  from 
our  considertion  the  struggle  with  ill  health  that  he  was 
forced  to  make  during  his  life,  there  remains  nothing  that 
justifies  any  substantial  claim  to  heroism.  Nor  is  he 
entitled  to  extraordinary  praise  for  his  meditative  philoso- 
phy and  artistic  conscientiousness  as  compared  to  certain 
others. 

It  does  not  require  a  very  profound  analysis  to  discover 
that  Schiller  did  not  possess  those  sublime  creative  qualities 
that  constitute  poetic  greatness  such  as  would  entitle  him 
to  a  place  among  poets  of  the  first  rank.  The  truth  appears 
to  be  that  he  was,  as  a  poet,  a  rare  interpreter  and  exponent 
of  the  national  instincts  and  ideals,  and  that  he  awoke  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen  vibrations  which  were  largely  in- 
dependent of  the  poet,  as  poet,  and  to  which  the  hearts  of 
strangers  were  not  attuned. 


JOHANN  WOLFGANG  VON  GOETHE 
DATE  1811 


THIS  is  part  of  a  letter  from  the  German  poet  Goethe 
about  returning  a  manuscript,  dated  Weimar,  August  4, 
1811. 

We  are  as  a  rule  too  much  disposed  to  exaggerate  the 
part  that  innate  gifts  play  in  human  evolution  as  compared 
to  environment  and  opportunity.  As  has  been  often  said, 
the  mightiest  oaks  require  the  richest  soils  to  attain  full 
growth.  Similarly  the  natural  birth-gifts  of  Goethe,  ex- 
traordinary though  they  were,  could  neither  have  produced 
the  intellectual  phenomenon  that  he  became,  had  he  lived 
anywhere  else  than  on  German  soil.  The  truth  is  that 
greatness  in  every  field  of  human  effort,  depends  upon  op- 
portunity, and  external  influence  as  well  as  upon  inborn 
qualities.  It  is  obvious  that  we  cannot  determine  the  condi- 
tions under  which  we  are  born,  but  we  can  utilize  them ;  we 
can  enrich  them  to  an  extent  commensurate  with  our  natal 
endowments  and  with  our  susceptibility  to  development. 

Selecting  Goethe  for  illustration,  we  easily  detect  in  the 
atmosphere  prevailing  in  Germany  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  the  conditions  of  time  and  place, 
and  in  Goethe  himself,  the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  in- 
dispensable for  the  production  of  his  "Werther."  Simi- 

293 


294 


HOW  TO  BEAD 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          295 

larly,  an  apparently  accidental  meeting  with  the  Duke  of 
Weimar  furnished  Goethe  with  a  fresh  field  of  opportunity 
and  led  to  the  full  revelation  and  expression  of  his  mighty 
intellect  and  character.  This  evolution  resulted  in  an  un- 
paralleled combination  of  every  human  element  and  ac- 
counts for  his  apparently  extraordinary  contradictions  in 
conduct  and  achievement.  On  the  one  hand,  his  imagination 
attains  the  highest  flights  of  poetic  excellence;  he  lives  in 
the  unreal  realm  of  fancy  and  of  dreams,  he  loses  himself 
in  the  throngs  of  busy  men  and  in  their  practical  activities. 
On  the  other  hand  he  rivals  a  Newton  in  scientific  achieve- 
ment, competes  with  the  surgeon  and  the  jurist  in  their 
respective  fields,  and  hardly  yields  precedence  to  a  Talley- 
rand or  a  Rochefoucauld  in  knowledge  of  the  world  and  in 
ability  to  penetrate  the  hidden  thoughts  and  motives  of 
men.  He  creates  a  Faust  who  barters  his  soul  for  mortal 
love  and  sensual  delight,  but  at  the  same  moment  abandons 
both  to  a  mocking  and  triumphant  Mephistopheles. 

Thus  we  may  run  through  the  long  list  of  Goethe's  vir- 
tues and  achievements  to  find  that  we  have  failed  to  include 
the  philanthropist,  the  tender  and  self-sacrificing  friend, 
the  idol  of  a  home  where  peace  and  happiness  are  mingled 
with  the  worship,  love,  and  homage  which  he  receives  from 
the  cultivated  and  the  enlightened,  as  well  as  from  those 
that  are  near  and  dear  to  him.  And  even  after  supplying 
this  omission,  we  are  confronted  with  the  realization  that 
we  have  not  done  justice  to  Goethe  by  our  failure  to  still  add 
the  negatives  of  all  that  is  highest  and  best  in  human  char- 
acter and  thus  completely  and  faithfully  reproduce  his 
seemingly  contradictory  nature  and  personality. 

Having  done  this  we  arrive  at  this  summary  which  has 
been  made  by  those  who  knew  him  best.  They  conclude 


296          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

that  he  was  the  most  humane  of  men,  with  highly  developed 
powers  of  soul,  and  physical  perfection ;  a  man  whose  physi- 
cal life  fully  retained  its  independence  and  thoroughly  per- 
meated the  spiritual — all  this  uniting  in  such  striking  pro- 
portions as  to  impress  those  who  knew  him  with  the  fact 
that  they  had  never  before  met  such  a  being. 


CHARLES  DICKENS 

DATE  1835 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  letter  from  Charles  Dickens  to  Thomas  Fraser  was 
in  reference  to  writing  a  series  of  articles  for  the  Evening 
Chronicle.  It  is  dated  Furnival's  Inn,  January  20,  1835. 

The  secret  of  Dickens'  universal  literary  popularity  is 
that  he  was  endowed  by  Mother  Nature  with  a  combination 
of  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  demanded  neither  the 
tempering  of  experience,  nor  the  evolution  of  labor  and  of 
years.  These  qualities  seemed  to  attain  their  fullest  devel- 
opment in  him  simultaneously,  making  it  almost  impossible 
to  single  out  the  predominating  one. 

Where,  for  example,  shall  we  find  any  other  man  in  his 
sphere  of  human  achievement  who  was  more  consummately 
adapted  to  his  special  work  by  special  natural  endowment, 
or  in  whom  love  and  devotion  to  that  work  was  more  sin- 
cere— in  fact,  consuming?  Among  what  records,  must  we 
delve  to  unearth  another  human  heart  that  pulsated  more 
completely  in  sympathy  with  the  frailties,  the  nobilities, 
the  aspirations,  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  human  race? 
In  what  corner  of  the  globe  would  we  look  for  a  mortal 
whose  mental  or  physical  eye  is  as  keenly  sharp  and  observ- 
ant, is  as  acutely  microscopic  in  detecting  and  revealing  all 
that  serves  to  make  up  humanity  in  both  its  private  and 

297 


298 


HOW  TO  READ 


CHARLES  DICKENS 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          299 

public  relations ;  in  all  its  complexities  of  character,  of  con- 
duct and  experience;  in  the  mysteries  of  its  purpose  and 
destiny?  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  in  accomplishing 
his  wonderful  work,  he  has  not  sacrificed  a  single  friend, 
wounded  a  human  being  or  made  one  actual  enemy.  On  the 
contrary,  so  completely  has  Dickens  identified  himself  with 
his  fellow-creatures  of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  that  he 
may  be  truly  said  to  have  spoken  with  their  tongue,  written 
with  their  pen,  felt  with  their  heart ;  thus  exemplifying  the 
dramatists  characterization  of  ''Two  souls  with  but  a  single 
thought;  two  hearts  that  beat  as  one." 

We  therefore  find  in  this  remarkable  man,  the  following 
prominent  characteristics :  boundless  imagination — exalted, 
noble,  sublime,  as  well  as  grotesque;  fantastic,  wild 
imagery;  exuberant,  frolicsome,  cheerful,  mirth;  laughter 
and  fun;  open,  good-hearted  capacity  for  full  and  exhaus- 
tive enjoyment  of  life  in  all  its  moods,  manifestations  and 
pleasures;  delight  in  the  enjoyment  of  home  and  family; 
intense  sympathy  with  every  human  emotion  and  aspira- 
tion; an  almost  superhuman  keenness  of  observation  of 
human  character,  mannerisms,  peculiarities  of  conduct  and 
behavior,  with  an  innate  genius  for  penetrating  and  sym- 
pathizing with  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  daily,  domestic 
and  intimate  life  of  poor,  uncultured,  humble  folk,  so  that 
he  actually  succeeded  in  revealing  to  them  a  new  world  of 
their  own — better  than  that  they  were  familiar  with,  and  in 
even  inspiring  them  with  a  higher  purpose. 


300 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


JL 


WILLIAM  MAKEPEACE  THACKERAY 

DATE  1849 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

A  LETTEE  from  Thackeray  to  Antonio  Panizzi,  Keeper  of 
the  Printed  Books  in  the  British  Museum.  Dated,  Kensing- 
ton, May,  1849. 

Thackeray's  earliest  manifestation  of  literary  talent  was 
' '  Timbucktoo, ' '  a  burlesque  of  the  poem  with  which  his  con- 
temporary and  life-long  friend,  Tennyson,  carried  off  the 
Chancellor's  prize  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  His  de- 
testation of  the  genus  "snob"  also  came  to  the  surface  at 
the  same  stage  of  his  career,  and  increased  as  time  ran  on. 

Although  no  laurels  crowned  his  labors  at  school  or  col- 
lege, he  was  laying  the  foundation  for  his  subsequent  suc- 
cesses by  omnivorous  reading  of  the  romantic  literature  of 
the  day,  which  was  the  mental  pabulum  for  which  Nature 
had  richly  prepared  and  adapted  his  brain. 

Thackeray  was  endowed  with  the  power  of  acute  observa- 
tion and  used  his  eyes  to  such  good  purpose  that  he  stored 
up  a  rich  fund  of  experience  which,  combined  \.dth  his  close 
association  with  such  men  as  Liddell,  Tennyson,  Fitzgerald, 
Kinglake  and  Monckton  Milnes,  could  not  fail  to  help 
furnish  him  with  the  necessary  equipment  for  his  subse- 
quent successes. 

Thus  equipped,  his  patrimony  dissipated,  with  no  em- 
ployment to  fall  back  upon,  it  was  natural  that  he  should 
seek  refuge  in  the  harbor  of  literature.  As  Trollope  says ; 

301 


302          CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 

"  It  is  a  profession  that  requires  no  capital,  no  special  edu- 
cation, no  training.  If  a  man  can  command  a  table,  a  chair, 
a  pen,  paper  and  ink,  he  can  commence  his  trade  as  a 
literary  man." 

Accordingly  Thackeray  entered  this  field  armed  with  his 
romantic  pen  and  the  irresistible  charm  and  power  of  that 
breeding  and  nobility  which  are  the  hall-mark  of  the  Eng- 
lish university. 

As  we  should  expect  to  find,  simplicity  was  one  of  the 
leading  characteristics  of  the  man  whose  pet  aversion  was 
snobbery.  His  diction  religiously  avoids  bombast,  pom- 
posity and  involved  sentences.  He  was  also  utterly  lacking 
in  conceit,  so  much  so  that  he  did  not  hesitate  to  make  this 
confession:  "One  of  Dickens'  immense  superiorities  over 
me  is  his  great  fecundity  of  imagination,"  and  yet  he  him- 
self had  a  liberal  amount  of  imagination. 

Not  a  few  of  his  friends  and  admirers — Charlotte  Bronte 
for  example — regarded  him  as  a  social  reformer,  whose 
censure  proceeded  from  the  heart  rather  than  the  head ;  for 
he  was  profoundly  sincere.  It  must  be  admitted  that  irony 
and  satire  were  habitual  with  him,  but  only  as  an  aid  to  his 
moral  purpose  of  regeneration.  He  has  been  accused  of  the 
very  offense  that  he  gibbeted  so  fiercely :  snobbery,  toady- 
ing to  the  great  and  repelling  his  inferiors.  In  so  far  as 
objecting  to  the  familiarity  of  the  "Bob  Bowstreets"  and 
"Tom  Garbages"  of  Grub  Street  is  concerned,  this  charge 
is  no  doubt  true,  for,  Thackeray  was  not  only  diffident  but 
also  sensitive — qualities  that  can  be  easily  mistaken  for 
pride  and  brusqueness,  and  are  reconcilable  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  essentially  a  composite  of  the  sentimentalist 
and  the  cynic. 


BRITISH  MUSEUM 

SPECIMEN  reproduced  is  part  of  a  letter  in  French  from 
Victor  Hugo  to  the  publisher  Charles  Griffin  in  which  he 
declines  to  correct  the  proof  of  the  sketch  of  his  life  in 
the  "Dictionary  of  Contemporary  Biography."  It  is  dated 
Hautville  House,  March  1,  1860. 

We  are  told  that  Victor  Hugo  came  into  the  world  "color- 
less, sightless,  voiceless  and  so  poor  a  weakling  that  all 
despaired  of  him  except  his  mother."  Life,  indeed,  ap- 
peared about  to  erase  from  its  book  a  child  "whose  short 
day  of  existence  seemed  destined  to  pass  into  night  without 
a  morn."  These  are  Victor  Hugo's  own  words — his  de- 
scription of  himself  as  he  entered  upon  his  long  and  event- 
ful life— from  1802  to  1885.  That  such  an  entity  should 
have  survived;  that  he  should  have  developed  into  a  phe- 
nomenal protagonist  in  the  loftiest  field  of  man's  intellec- 
tual achievement,  is  convincing  proof  that  nothing  is  im- 
possible. There  must,  indeed,  have  been  some  purpose  in  it 
—possibly  human  progress  and  development  through 
Victor  Hugo's  genius. 

There  are  few  men  of  note  whose  inmost  nature  has  been 
more  difficult  to  reach,  for  the  reason  that  he  has — no 
doubt  unintentionally — mystified  us  in  this  respect.  He  did 
this,  for  example,  in  his  Feuilles  d'Automne  (Autumn 
Leaves),  published  in  1831 — a  work  breathing  throughout, 
sadness,  melancholy,  disappointment,  grief,  suffering. 

303 


304 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


S   \  f  ';        *\    J   ^      j>  5 
v  'V  ,»   \  M    f  \t       H 

i  i  j  *x   -I  fe  >    J|T 

^  \vj  '*  \  r-«L 

I  f  li  j  .:  K^  ii  A 

Vi(|Nj^     ^        ?[li 

^  'o  ^N,  M  *    W   * 

«  r    i  I V  H  )nf 

Si  «       Jd      /t 


.^ 

t  '0 
:< 


l>1 

\  i 
$  < 

r\ 


k  M-   ^ 
•«   \ 


.;  it'l* 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING         305 

That  Hugo  should  at  this  period  of  his  life,  when  his  physi- 
cal and  mental  forces  were  at  their  highest,  although  he 
was  but  29  years  of  age ;  when  the  whole  world  was  before 
him ;  when  he  had  just  published  one  of  his  greatest  works : 
"Notre  Dame  de  Paris" ;  when  his  fame  and  name  were 
already  established  and  had  brought  him  distinction  and 
hosts  of  perfervid  worshipers;  when  domestic  peace  and 
happiness  were  his ;  that  he  should,  at  this  glorious  spring- 
time of  his  accumulating  greatness,  have  sounded  a  note  so 
plaintive — a  touching  wail  of  his  departed  youth — is  indeed 
strange.  The  true  psychological  explanation  is  not  discov- 
erable in  his  career — his  external  life — and  can  be  found 
only  in  his  inherent,  temperamental  sadness,  and  it  does  not 
matter  even  if  in  middle  life  and  up  to  its  close,  he  fought 
bitter  enemies,  political  persecution,  with  all  the  hopeful- 
ness, tenacity  and  courage  of  a  character  that  knew  not 
complaint  or  despair. 

Forster,  the  author  of  a  "Life  of  Charles  Dickens",  and 
Legouve,  French  Academician,  coincide  precisely  in  praise 
of  Hugo  as  being  "in  private  life  what  he  invariably  was; 
unaffected,  amusing,  full  of  anecdote  and  pleasantry." 
Even  in  later  years  M.  Lesclide,his  private  secretary  speaks 
of  the  "charm  of  his  conversation  which  was  easy,  simple 
yet  full  of  color,  and  when  he  was  animated,  of  an  ardent 
enthusiasm."  De  Banville  also  expresses  his  admiration 
for  Hugo's  modesty  and  urbanity  and  adds  that  he  was 
"affable,  full  of  welcome,  thinking  of  everyone,  forgetful 
of  himself  and  retaining  no  trace  of  his  aristocratic  breed- 
ing, save  an  exquisite  politeness  and  familiar  courtesy. 
When  in  his  house  you  felt  at  home,  free,  happy,  at  ease, 
and  warmed  by  a  pleasant  atmosphere  of  affection  and 
tenderness — with  hospitality  of  the  right  kind. 


306  HOW  TO  READ 

It  was  after  he  had  reached  middle  life,  and  during  his 
exile  and  residence  at  Guernsey,  that  he  published  his  great- 
est works.  His  house  there  was  really  a  part  of  himself  as 
was  Abbotsford  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  There,  was  revealed 
the  aesthetic  side  of  his  character.  For  example,  at  a  time 
when  blue  china,  old  oak  and  tapestry  were  practically 
unknown,  Hugo's  home  was  plentifully  adorned  and  embel- 
lished, and  one  can  easily  gauge  the  congeniality  of  his 
labor,  its  productiveness,  and  its  phenomenal  success. 

Victor  Hugo's  works  give  a  clear  insight  into  his  moral 
nobility.  "  Les  Miserables,"  in  particular,  is  an  open 
record  of  his  abhorrence  of  the  "social  damnation  creating 
artificial  hells  in  the  midst  of  civilization,  and  complicating 
destiny  with  an  element  of  human  fatality."  It  is  a  won- 
derful contribution  to  the  solution  of  four  problems;  "the 
degradation  of  man  through  proletarianism,  the  fall  of 
woman  through  hunger,  and  atrophy  of  the  child  through 
night,  and  social  asphyxia  through  ignorance  and  misery." 

In  1864  Victor  Hugo  returned  to  France,  still  the  same, 
faithful,  loyal  friend,  companion  and  confidential  comrade 
of  his  sons,  their  equal  in  alertness  and  activity — radiant, 
gay  and  at  all  times  gracious  and  good.  He  was  kindness 
itself  to  his  family,  and  ever  indulgent  to  them,  while  his 
benevolence  and  good  will  extended  beyond  the  sacred  walls 
of  home  to  all  without  its  gates.  He  was  something  even 
more  and  greater  than  "master,  pontiff,  king,"  he  was  the 
"man,  the 'kindly  relation,  the  friend,  and  as  each  he  was 
most  lovable." 

Victor  Hugo  was  essentially  great  in  every  sense  of  the 
word;  in  private  life,  gentle,  simple,  kind,  genial;  in  his 
public  relations,  filled  with  profound  convictions  for  which 
he  was  ever  ready  to  fight  and  to  suffer. 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          307 


s 

Xr\ou*-^ 

UV\  Oj?      C5>S»  V^  V        °"V 


v 

^- 


JU 


t> 


x/ 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW 


HENEY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW 

DATED  1864 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  a  letter  from  Longfellow  dated  Cambridge,  Mass., 
February  1,  1864,  to  Hiram  Corson,  the  publisher,  who 
issued  the  edition  of  Chaucer's  "Legende  of  Good 
Women,"  and  for  a  copy  of  which  Longfellow  thanks  him. 

If  Longfellow  had  never  written  a  line  of  poetry,  he 
would  have  transmitted  to  posterity  a  fame  in  no  degree 
less  lustrous  than  that  which  has  actually  been  accorded 
him. 

"Evangeline,"  commonly  considered  the  best  of  his 
poems,  and  "Tine  Song  of  Hiawatha"  won  for  him  the  ad- 
miration, affection  and  tender  remembrance,  not  only  of  his 
countrymen,  but  of  his  friends  in  foreign  lands,  and  caused 
them  to  cherish  him  as  one  of  the  sweetest,  kindest,  tender- 
est  and  noblest  of  men. 

It  is  indeed  difficult  to  name  a  single  human  virtue  that 
was  not  revealed  in  Longfellow,  and  the  highest  praise  that 
can  be  bestowed  upon  him  as  a  poet,  and  the  greatest  tribute 
that  can  be  paid  to  his  memory  is  to  say  that  his  life  itself 
was  the  best,  the  noblest  of  poems. 

To  specifically  describe  his  character  would  be  merely  to 
sum  up  almost  all  that  is  divine  in  human  nature.  It  is 
therefore  sufficient  to  conclude  with  the  statement  that  he 
"united  in  his  strong,  transparent  humanity  almost  every 
virtue ;  that  no  man  ever  lived  more  completely  in  the  light 
than  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. ' ' 

308 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON 

DATE  1867 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

REPRODUCTION  of  part  of  the  original  manuscript  of  an 
address  read  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  Harvard 
University,  July  18,  1867,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  It 
was  later  published  in  " Letters  and  Social  Aims"  in  1876. 

Emerson  sounded  the  keynote  of  his  character  at  a  very 
early  period  of  his  career,  when  from  the  pulpit  he  declared 
his  rejection  of  the  orthodox  acceptance  of  the  Sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  viewed  this  as  intended  merely 
as  a  token  of  spiritual  remembrance  and  he  therefore 
dropped  the  material  elements  associated  with  it.  Here  we 
have  a  fearless  demonstration  of  uncompromising,  spiritual 
independence  and  sincerity  of  character.  Not  long  after, 
he  expressed  himself  sincerely  in  his  address  to  the  grad- 
uating class  of  the  Divinity  School  at  Cambridge  in  1838, 
in  which  he  protested  against  the  unquestioning  acceptance 
of  the  personal  authority  of  Jesus.  This  was  obviously 
an  attack  upon  historical  Christianity  as  well  as  Unitarian- 
ism,  and  in  the  very  citadel  of  puritanism,  thus  affording 
further  convincing  proof  of  that  independence,  self-reliance 
and  sincerity  that  were  the  foundations  of  Emerson's  char- 
acter. 

Starting  with  this  strong  mental  and  moral  equipment, 
he  came  under  the  influences  of  such  distinguished  con- 

309 


310 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING          311 

temporaries  as  Carlyle,  Swedenborg  and  Coleridge,  result- 
ing in  the  rare,  finished,  unique,  productions  as  poet,  philos- 
opher, mystic  and  optimist,  his  Doctrines  crystallizing  into 
the  philosophy  known  as  Transcendentalism. 

Briefly  described,  this  philosophy  taught  that  man  con- 
tained within  himself  all  evil  and  all  good ;  that  the  spiritual 
man  has  its  material  counterpart  in  the  external  wrorld  or 
nature.  It  therefore  follows  that  the  purpose  of  life  is — 
knowledge  of  self,  which  leads  to  the  most  exalted  of  all 
revelations — the  God  in  Man. 

It  is  true  that  many  fads  and  extravagancies  marked 
Emerson's  Concord  School  of  Philosophy,  and  more  or  lass 
compromised  such  distinguished  colleagues  and  followers 
as  Doctor  Ripley,  Bronson  Olcott,  Theodore  Parker,  Mar- 
garet Fuller  and  Henry  Thoreau ;  but  while  this  philosophy 
identified  Emerson  with  them  and  subjected  him  to  the 
derision  that  was  indulged  at  their  expense,  there  was  in 
him  something  peculiar;  something  which  seemed  superior 
to  all  that  characterized  these  other  eminent  persons,  some- 
thing that  turned  the  point  of  all  weapons  and  made  them 
glance  harmless  from  him.  This  was  the  impenetrable 
armor  of  Emerson's  most  unique  personality — the  very 
atmosphere  of  his  personal  presence,  marked  by  imperturb- 
able calm,  and  serene  expression.  Then  there  was  his 
placid  cheerfulness  and  trustful  repose — all  indicating  that 
he  had  found  the  inner  "kindly  light"  leading  him  to  the 
spiritual  freedom  that  completely  emancipated  him  from 
all  conventional,  earthly  restriction  and  limitations. 


312 


CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


U  5-.«  3 


LORD  ALFRED  TENNYSON 

DATE  1873 
BRITISH  MUSEUM 

THIS  is  part  of  the  original  manuscript  of  the  Epilogue 
to  "Idylls  of  the  King,"  addressed  to  her  Majes'ty,  Queen 
Victoria. 

"When  the  news  of  Byron's  death  reached  Tennyson,  it 
was  for  him  "a  day  when  all  the  world  seemed  darkened," 
and  he  straightway  went  into  the  woods  and  carved  upon 
a  rock :  ' '  Byron  is  dead. ' '  He  was  then  only  15  years  old. 
So  much  for  the  impression  that  Byron  had  made  upon  him. 

Afterwards,  and  before  he  was  permitted  to  leave  the 
paternal  roof  and  enter  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  his 
father  compelled  him  to  recite  from  memory  the  odes  of 
Horace,  by  no  means  a  task,  for  by  this  time  Tennyson  had 
become  very  productive — prematurely  so — having  already 
written  an  epic  of  6,000  lines  at  twelve,  and  a  drama  in 
blank  verse  at  fourteen. 

Tennyson  was  a  great  poet  at  24  years  of  age.  His 
volume  of  poems  published  at  the  time,  proclaimed  him  a 
finished  genius;  his  "Poems  Chiefly  Lyrical/'  brought  out 
in  1830  when  he  was  only  21,  revealed  "amazing  magnifi- 
cence of  fancy,"  "voluptuous  pomp  of  imagery"  and 
"wonderful  melody." 

The  death  of  Arthur  Hallam,  Tennyson's  intimate  friend, 

313 


314  HOW  TO  READ 

for  a  time  seriously  threatened  his  health  and  his  work. 
On  the  other  hand  it  caused  him  to  "devote  his  whole  soul 
to  the  art  of  poetry,"  which  finally  gained  for  him  the  title 
of  leading  poet  of  his  age,  this  title  being  coincident  with 
the  publication  in  1842  of  a  two-volume  edition  of  his 
poems,  including  "Locksley  Hall,"  "Ulysses"  and  "Sir 
Galahad." 

Another  happening  enfeebled  Tennyson's  health  and 
blunted  his  pen.  Through  the  persuasion  of  a  promoter 
he  was  induced  to  invest  all  he  possessed  and  a  part  of 
his  brothers'  and  sisters'  fortunes  in  a  Patent  Decorative 
Carving  Company  which  collapsed  and  left  him  penniless 
and  a  victim  of  nervous  prostration.  From  the  effects  of 
this  he  never  recovered  completely,  although  his  friend 
Henry  Hallam  caused  Sir  Robert  Peel  to  relieve  him  per- 
sonally with  an  annual  pension  of  £200. 

With  Tennyson's  marriage  in  June,  1850,  to  Emily  Sarah 
Ellwood,  came  the  turning-point  in  his  worldly  fortunes  and 
domestic  affairs.  It  brought  him  ample  compensation  for 
the  affliction  and  misery  of  his  previous  years.  On  the 
death  of  Wadsworth,  he  became  poet  laureate  and  devoted 
himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  study  of  ancient  literature, 
especially  Homer  and  Virgil, — Milton  was  also  a  favorite. 
With  each  succeeding  year  Tennyson  continued  to  add 
laurels  to  his  crown  until  he  reached  the  summit  of  success 
with  his  Idylls  of  the  King  in  1859,  and  even  in  his  old  age 
he  added  to  his  popularity  and  greatness  by  his  Holy  Grail. 

Simplicity  is  perhaps  the  most  prominent  of  all  his  quali- 
ties, a  simplicity  that  despised  convention.  He  was,  how- 
ever, extremely  sensitive,  affectionate  and  shy,  gentle  and 
sweet,  with  a  tendency  to  sadness  and  melancholy,  and  was 
keenly  alive  to  the  influence  of  beauty. 


CHARACTER,  PROM  HANDWRITING          315 

Tennyson  certainly  ranked  among  the  foremost  poets  of 
England.  He  achieved  the  maximum  of  excellence  with  the 
minimum  of  imperfection,  the  secret  of  his  popularity  being 
in  the  fact  that  he  was,  first  of  all,  an  artist. 


316         CHARACTER  FROM  HANDWRITING 


t 


7 


^L        *+ 

**        *g         Z 


a 


4 


JAPANESE  DIARY 


JAPANESE  DIAEY 

THE  Japanese  borrowed  their  system  of  writing  from  the 
Chinese,  that  is  they  borrowed  rather  the  characters. 
These  characters  are  much  alike  in  appearance  but  they  are 
so  utterly  different  in  meaning  that  the  Japanese  to-day 
find  it  more  difficult  to  learn  Chinese  than  English  or 
French. 


317 


INDEX  TO  CHARACTERISTICS 


to  250  of  the  characteristics  found  in  the  specimens  reproduced  in  this  book. 
The  number  immediately  following  each  characteristc  is  the  corresponding 
number  illustrated.  Many  more  may  be  found  by  the  reader. 


Activity,   18,   169,  323(6) 
Adaptability,  21,   101,   143 
jEsthi-ticism,  338(6),  340(5) 
Affectation,  32,  298(17),  314(2) 
Aggressiveness,  299(6),  352(4) 
Ambition,  18,  59,  128,  325(2) 
Amiability,  326(9),  326(10) 
Argumentative  ,297(11),  349(4) 
Aristocratic      bearing,      26,      26  (a), 

26 (b),  322(1) 
Arrogance,  322(5) 
Artistic      Inclination,      69,      326(9), 

306(10) 

Artistic  taste,  323(10),  326(9) 
Athleticism  and  sport,  168,  173 
Athletic  heart,  309(15),  311(13) 
Avarice,  97,  136,  299(3) 

Bashfulness,  112,  294(3),  326(8) 
Boastfulness,  28,  299(7),  319(6) 
Brutality,  65,  138,  345(10) 
Business  ability,  40,  308(10),  326(7) 
"  Butters-in,"  297(10) 

Can-fulness,  189 

Carelessness,   11,  83 

Cautiousness,  191,  314(1) 

Clearness,  67,  349(3) 

Clumsiness,  336(4) 

Closeness,  97,  293(1),  324(16) 

Coldness,  40,  62,  301(2) 

Commercial  tendencies,  308(10) 

Common  sense,  311(18) 

Combativeness,  346(17) 

Conceit,  145 

Concentration,        307(2),        317(4), 

328(2) 

Confidence,  18 
Conventional,  337(1) 


Constancy,  84 

Contentedness,  322(3),  325(3) 
Contrariness,  162,  299(6) 
Conversational  ism,     291(3),     293(5), 

301(1) 

Coquetry,  204,  296(5),  319(1) 
Courage",  111,  199,  316(13) 
Courtesy,  42,  142 
Covetousness,  323(8),  326(7) 
Cowardice,  19 
Criticism,  131,  159,  344(4) 
Cruelty,  65 

Culture,  290(8),  314(5) 
Cunning,    21,    43(a),    55(b),    55(c), 

68,  290(4) 

Deceitfulness,  21,  43 (a),  44,   182 (a), 

324(18) 

Deduction,  298(16),  312(3) 
Despotism,  300(13),  346(20) 
Diligence,  18 
Diplomacy,  21,  305(7) 
Disappointment,  137,  314(3),  342(5) 
Discouragement,  19,  137 
Dishonesty,      65,      182  (a),      330(6), 

288(6) 
Domineering,   196,  297(13) 

Earning  capacity  good,  312(1) 
Eccentricity,  323(1),  296(3) 
Economy,  8,   14,  30,  31,   149,  288(1) 
Education,  290(8),  301(5) 
Egotism,  32,  97,  293(6) 
Elegance,  292(7) 
Eloquence,  344(2) 
Energy,  22,  62,  111,  128,  326(13) 
Enterprise,  315(4),  342(4) 
Enthusiasm,  18,  161,  326(9),  315(5) 
Envy,  139 


318 


INDEX 


319 


Epicurean,  324(15) 
Exactness,  315(2) 
Exaggeration,  289(7) 
Excitability,  54,  109 
Executive  ability,   169 
Exclusiveness,    "    288(5), 

301(2) 
Extravagance,  9,  315(6) 


290(5), 


Faithfulness,  64,  292(9),  328(6) 
False  pride,  321(1),  322(5),  325(4) 
Fantastic  ideas,  296(2),  300(10) 
Fickleness,   11,  87,  344(5) 
Flattery,   141,   153 
Forgetfulness,  52,  315(1) 
Forethought,  315(3),  340(8) 
Frankness,  64,  288(2),  32"6(12) 
Friendliness,  324(12),  326(10) 
Fun-loving,   131 

Geniality,  357(1) 
Generosity,  9,  326(10),  326(11) 
"  Good  mixer,"  324(13) 
Good  taste,  9,  69,  95,  154 
Gossip,   343(8) 
Gaudiness,  309(21) 

Harmoniousness,  305(6),  306(10) 

Harsh  nature,  311(17),  319(3) 

Heart  control,  300(8),  304(8) 

Hopefulness,  18 

House  tyranny,  307(6),  311(11) 

Heart  trouble,  309(15),  311(13) 

Humor,   132,  324(14) 

Humility,   347(24) 

Hypocrisy,  21,  43 (a),  44,  65,  182 (a) 

Idealism,  123,  315(5) 
Illness,  307(5),  311(10) 
Imagination,  53,  134,  325(5) 
Immoderateness,  109 
Importance,  136 
Impudence,  309(19) 
Impulsiveness,  338(7) 
Individuality,  346(19) 
Inactivity,  170 

Inconsiderateness,   65,  65 (a),   163 
Indecision,   236,   348(33) 
Independence,  123,   183,  322(1) 
Inner  sorrow,  293(3) 
Insincerity,  330(7) 


Intrigue,  182  (a) 
Intuition,  121,  122 
Insolence,   312(2),   313(2) 
Intolerance,  346(19) 

Jealousy,   138 
Jollity,  132,  326(12) 

Lack  of  courage,  91 

Lack  of  independence,  20,  82,  109 

Laziness,   19,  03 

Leadership,  322(1) 

Level-headedness,  67,  171 

Liar,  65,  289(7),  315 (8 f 

Liberality,  9,  95,  98,  99,  101,  154 

Literary  interests,  291(4) 

Literary  ability,  301(5) 

Liveliness,  323(6),  325(5) 

Logic,   119,   126,  289(10),  312(3) 

Loquaciousness,  52,  53,  288(2) 

Love  of  admiration,  309(21) 

Love  of  flattery,  153 

Love  of  family  life,  323(10),  307(7) 

Love  of  justice,  64,  157 

Love  of  dress,  296(5) 

Love  of  art,  304(6) 

Love  of  good  eating,  291(6),  297(9), 

326(12) 

Love  of  music,  332(12) 
Love  of  luxury,  108,  307(3),  308(14) 
Love  of  outdoor  life,  161 
Love  of  pleasure,  308(14) 
Luxuriousness,  307(3) 

Malice,  345(12) 
Maliciousness,  345(12) 
Materialism,  316(12) 
Meanness,  97,  291(5),  315(9) 
Memory  good,  292(9),  339(12> 
Mentality  weak,  307(5),  311(10) 
Mental  depression,  343(6) 
Mental  vanity,  68 
Mercantile  ability,  308(10) 
Methodical,  332(11),  338(1),  338(3) 
Modesty,  31,  322(2),  339(14) 
Money-maker,  308  (11) 
Morality,  303(4),  305(7) 
Musical   inclinations,  306(10) 
Mischief,  345(12) 

Narrow-mindedness,  296(2),  300(10) 


320 


INDEX 


Nervousness,  89 
Nobility,  235 

Obedience,  347(27) 

Openness,  310(1) 

Opposition,  297(11),  299(6) 

Order,  10,  291(4) 

Organization,  169 

Originality,  289(9),  292(7),  340(7) 

Palpitation  of  heart,  311(15) 

Passionateness,  38,  54,  65,  110,  114 

Perseverance,  303(1),  326(13) 

Persistence,  347(30) 

Plainness,  309(20),  311(18) 

Poor  health,  74,  311(13),  (14),  (15), 

356(6) 

Positiveness,  128,  139,  300(8) 
Precaution,  188,  191,  355(1) 
Precision,  10 

Pretension,  301(6),  302(9) 
Prevarication,  109,  288(7),  315(8) 
Pride,  308(13) 

Pride  of  family,  312(5),  322(1) 
Promptness,  315(2) 
Protectiveness,  210 
Prudence,  57,  316(16) 

Quarrelsomeness,  159 
Quick  temper,  177,  345(14) 

Reasoning  power,  111,  126 
Reserve,  56,  57,   156,  326(14) 
Resisting  power,  strong,   156,  302(3) 
Resisting  power,  weak,  300(9) 

Sadness,  346(18) 
Satire,  324(14) 
Sarcasm,  319(4) 
Scolding  person,  307(6) 
Secretiveness,  56,  288(1),  290(1) 
Self-admiration,  301(3) 
Self-centered,  311(12) 
Self-consciousness,  29,  54,  322(1) 
Self-control,  176,  317(1) 
Self-praise,  145,  173,  294(2) 
Self-confidence,  204  ( 1 ) 
Selfishness,  13,  68,  97,  145 
Sensitiveness,  36,  37,  109,  323(9) 
Sensuality,  311(9) 
Sensuousness,  53,  54,  108,  109 


Sexual     desires     very     strong,     110, 

316(11) 

Severity,  62,  314(6) 
Shrewdness,  55,   145 (a),   288(4) 
Sharp  dealing,  317(3) 
Shyness,  312(6) 
Sickness,  298(15) 
Simplicity,  31,  185,  304(9) 
Sincerity,  17,  60 

Snobbishness,  314  (2) ,  319(2),  322(1) 
Sociability,  132,  324(13) 
Sorrow,  291  (1 ) 
Spendthrift  ways,  99,  100 
Spirituality,   167 
Stinginess,  8,  97,  315(8) 
Strength,  294 ( 1 ) ,  323 ( 7 ) 
Steadfastness,  17,  336(7),  339(9) 
Stubbornness,  303(2),  326(14) 
Suavity,  21 

Subserviency,  322(2),  347(24) 
Suffering,  291(1),  293(3) 
Subordination,  322(2),  325(1) 
Superficiality,  90 
Suspicion,  192,  302(7) 
Symmetry,  301(4),  302(6) 
Sybaritic,  324(15),  326(12) 


291(3),         293(5), 


Tact,  305(7) 
Talkativeness, 

324(13) 
Temper,  quick,  343(9) 
Timidity,  336(3) 
Thrift,  14,  30,  149 
Trustworthiness,  17,  60 
Tyranny,  65 

Unscrupulousness,  65,  191,  192 

Vanity,  32,  80,  173,  296(5) 
Versatility,  101,  315(6),  332(13) 
Violence,  59,  150,  343(9) 

Wastefulness,  9 

Wavering,  19 

Weak  character,  20,  296(1),  300(9), 

346(18) 

Whimsicality,  109 
Will-power,  strong,  114,  336(6) 
Will-power,  weak,  109 
"Windy"  talkers,  299(7) 
Wit,  132,  348(32) 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


m 

19'90  REC'DCl 


08  1S90 

P  3  1991 


< 


A     000  071  325     5 


